Keep the Faith
by Lost Enchanter
Summary: Draco Malfoy has kidnapped Ginny Weasley, but what does he want? Is it just Ginny, or does Malfoy seem a little... desperate? Post HBP
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K.Rowling, as you all know, not me.

A/N. This is my first "real" attempt at writing a story, so be nice! That being said, criticism is always welcome. It's a short chapter to start off with, but they will get longer.

Keep the Faith

Chapter 1

The cold weather seeped through the castle and everyone, teachers included, was bundled up in their warm cloaks and scarves. It was definitely the start of an early winter, and very symbolic of the general feeling going around. Ginny Weasley leaned against the stone wall in the entrance hall with Luna Lovegood. She tucked her red hair over one shoulder, stuffed her cold hands in her pockets and sighed. The two girls stood in companionable silence, which they did quite often these days. There was nothing cheerful to talk about. The castle seemed emptier than ever with Dumbledore gone; cold and empty. He had been the heart and soul of the school. And since there were only a miniscule number of students attending this year, Ginny felt lonely. None of her close friends in her year came back. She only had Neville and Luna, but even they reminded her that Harry was gone. She'd had no word from him since the summer, after Bill's wedding. Harry had ended their relationship and made it quite clear that she should get on with her own life, but Ginny couldn't go an hour without being constantly reminded of the horrible changes that had been made around her.

"Ginny?" She turned her head to look at Luna.

"Yes?" she asked.

"Are you okay?" Luna's blonde hair was tucked under a hat and she wore her old butterbeer cork necklace, which she fingered absentmindedly.

"Yeah, I guess I am. Why?"

"You have that look that you get whenever you're thinking about Harry, that's all." Ginny stared at Luna, slightly unnerved at how perceptive she was. "But if you're okay, then never mind." Ginny couldn't help but smile at Luna.

"No, you're right Luna. I was thinking about him." Her smile slipped and she glanced down. _Does he ever think about me?_ Luna put her hand on Ginny's arm in comfort.

"Don't worry Ginny; I'm sure he misses you too."

"Yeah." All of the sudden Ginny felt like she needed air. "I think I'm going to go for a walk."

"Okay."

Ginny said goodbye to Luna and walked out the front doors.

Ginny walked slowly around the castle, over the frost-bitten grass, and made her way to the lone tree by the lake, where so many memories had taken place.

She remembered laying here with Harry, enjoying small moments together, doing homework with friends when the weather was nice. She sat down with her back against the tree and looked out to Dumbledore's white tomb, wondering just how long everyone would have to suffer, how many more happy endings would be destroyed before the war's end. Everyone seemed to have taken a part in this war … everyone but her; Harry, Hermione, and all of her brothers with the exception of Percy…everybody. Her mum and dad had immediately refused to let her help because they were concerned for her safety. She knew their argument back and forth, but it still angered her every time she'd think about it. She hated sitting on the sidelines just waiting for something to happen. Ginny sighed and closed her eyes.

She was sitting, enjoying the silence when a twig snapped behind her. Her eyes snapped open, and she heard it again. Ginny gasped, and turned her head back to see what it was.

A lone dark figure stood frighteningly close, and Ginny had to scramble to her feet before she could get a good look at him. Ginny reached for her wand, but found that it wasn't in its usual spot. She looked around quick to see if she'd dropped it.

The intruder laughed. A low, chilling voice; she knew that voice, but she could not tell who it was. Between his fingers, he twirled her wand with a careless expertise. "Looking for something?" Ginny's mouth dropped open slightly in disbelief. How had he done that? Quickly enough, she came to her wits.

"Give me back my wand." she demanded indignantly. More laughter; Ginny knew she knew the person's voice, but she couldn't place it, and it bothered her.

"No, I don't think I will." He slowly approached her, light shone on his face for a second under his dark cloak and Ginny gasped.

It was Draco Malfoy.

A million thoughts ran through her mind. Here was a boy that had almost killed Dumbledore, a boy that had not been seen since that night; a Death Eater. A strange feeling of hatred rushed through her.

"Malfoy." she muttered under her breath. Now that he was closer, she could see his features a little more clearly. He looked slightly different than she remembered. The malicious smirk was there, as was usual, but it was tainted with something else. She didn't know what.

"That's right Weasley" She felt a sudden chill of fear go up her spine.

"What do you want?"

"You. And you are going to come with me." he said venomously. "Now are you going to come willingly, or do I have to force you?" a hint of his old drawl shown through the menacing words, and Ginny saw a glimpse of the boy she knew at school.

_What does he mean me?_ Ginny's eyes narrowed at the idea of him wanting her for sex or anything. That was completely absurd. Last time she'd seen him, he wouldn't have touched her with a pole. So what could he mean? Maybe he _did_ want to hurt her. The look in his eyes betrayed nothing, and she unconsciously wrapped her arms around herself.

"Well that depends, I suppose." she said sarcastically. "What the bloody hell could you possibly want with me?" She suddenly felt brave. He didn't really seem that dangerous after all. Then again, he _did_ have her wand.

He smirked at her, his clear grey eyes focusing in on hers. "I guess that means I have to force you?" Ginny rolled her eyes, saying nothing, thinking it not wise to let her mouth get ahead of her thoughts. He looked at her with that piercing look for so long that she grew impatient.

"Well?" she said. "You'd better tell me what you want, or I'm leaving, wand or not."

Draco's look turned stony. "Looks to me like you don't have much of a choice, Weasley. You won't like the answer, anyway." Ginny squinted her eyes in bewilderment at the comment. She huffed and gave him a dirty look, and turned around to try and just walk away from him.

"You're choice, Weasley." He said quietly and she turned around to look back at him, glaring.

The last thing she registered was the small movement of his wrist and a trickle of fear down her spine.

Everything turned black.


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Harry Potter is JKR's, not mine.

A/N: Happy New Year to everyone! Also, I hope you've all had wonderful holidays! I spent my Christmas visiting my sister and relatives one the other side of the country, and I had a really good time. I've just found out that my aunt (the one I was visiting) is a huge Harry Potter fan also! And it was really funny actually because we started talking about theories so much after dinner one night that the rest of my family (who have never read the books actually) left the table. It was quite funny. So who else is super-excited about the title for book seven? Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows… the possibilities are endless! It's mind-boggling. My birthday's coming up in a couple of days, actually, and I'm really excited because I'll be turning 18:) Anyways, thank you to everyone that reviewed my story. You guys made me happy. I'm trying to improve my writing skills, so please tell me what you think! I hope you all enjoy this chapter!

­Keep the Faith: Chapter Two

_She was running; running hard and running fast. It was dark, and all she felt was blind fear. She couldn't see anything around her, but she was strangely familiar with her way around. She was running from something, and she couldn't look back. _

_Her breath was short, her hair whipping out behind her, she ran as though her life depended on it. A touch to a wall around a bend told her that it was stone. A stone hallway of some sort, but she didn't have time to think about that, she had to get out of there. She had to get out of there fast._

_She stumbled once, twice, getting up with difficulty before continuing her escape._

_She could hear a noise, some yelling and curses. They must not be far behind. She had to escape. She had to keep running. She had to get to him._

_The darkness surrounded her, engulfed her, and she was scared. She felt fear for her life, and for his. She crossed a doorway into another hallway, shadowed, but aglow with moonlight. If she could just get to the end; she could make it. _

_She could make it to him._

_The shouts behind were becoming louder than ever. Her throat was parched, her head was pounding, her legs felt numb, but she could make it. Not too much longer. Casting a quick look behind her, she saw the dimly lit wands of her pursuers._

"_Ginny!" his voice called for her. He stood at an open doorway, waiting for her, hand outstretched. She sprinted the last stretch of hallway and he clasped her hand in his, and they shared a brief, but intense look, before he took off through the hidden doorway with her in tow. _

Ginny's eyes snapped open. Her breathing was heavy and her heart was beating fast. Cold fear seeped through her to the bones, with the irrational feeling of waking from a nightmare. She stared up into darkness. _Where am I?_ Ginny's breathing relaxed a little bit as she realised that the fear wasn't real. She pressed the cool palms of her hands to her eyes to relax. She couldn't remember anything but the dream itself. She was running from something, she didn't know what, or where, but she remembered the comforting touch of his hand around hers. Who's hand? She didn't know. _What a strange dream. It felt so…real. _

Ginny opened her eyes and sat up gently. She felt around her touching the rough, cold surface that she lay on; a stone floor. _Why would I sleep on the floor? _Ginny furrowed her brow in puzzlement as she racked at her memory. Nothing. The last thing she remembered was Luna. The two of them had been talking about something… about Harry, and then she'd felt like she'd needed air, so she'd gone for a walk near the lake. But then what? She couldn't remember. It was like she had a mental roadblock.

Slowly her eyes were adjusting to the darkness and she could see vague outline of objects around the room. She made her way carefully over to what looked ominously like a couch, which it was as she soon discovered and tentatively lay down on it. It was then she noticed that her head was pounding slightly. Also that she really needed something to drink. She vaguely remembered feeling these things in the dream, which was already fading from her memory. It was probably just her unconscious feeding off what her body was really feeling.

There was a blanket folded up on an armrest of the couch and she pulled it around herself, fighting off the cold chill in the room. She forced herself to think. _Why in Merlin's name would I be in a dark room all by myself? Sleeping on the floor of a room I've never been in before. Maybe I sleepwalk? _She looked around, and felt around in her pockets. _Wait a minute..._ She climbed down onto the floor where she had woken up. _Where's my wand?_ Something was wrong. She always had her wand in the same place, even when she was sleeping. She started to get a very bad feeling. Something was dreadfully wrong. ­"Where's my bloody wand?" She searched frantically all around. It had to be there somewhere.

_"Looking for something?"_

Ginny stopped what she was doing.

_She was looking up at a man as he stood there dark and imposing. Her very own wand was between his fingers as he twirled it, laughing softly. _

Ginny rubbed her temples. That was bad. Was that a dream too?

_Light shone on his face for a split second. It was Draco Malfoy._

_Oh shit._ Memories came flooding back. Draco Malfoy must have taken her somewhere.

Draco.

Bloody.

Malfoy.

She found the vague outline of a door in the darkness and ran to it. It was locked. Pounding on the door, she yelled. "Help! Someone let me out of here!"

Stopping herself, she looked around once more. It was most likely there wasn't anyone nearby that would help her, if she was right that Malfoy had brought her there. She changed her approach: "Draco Malfoy, you bloody prat! Let me out of here!"

…….

Neville and Luna sat together at a table in the Great Hall. There were no longer any tables attributing to each of the houses. It was supposed to create a sense of unity in the school, according to Professor McGonagall. It was one of her ideas as the new headmistress. Luna knew that she tried really hard to be a good headmistress to the school, but she was greatly affected by the fact that Dumbledore was gone, and as a result had become even more harsh and shrill than before. It was really a shame, thought Luna to herself as she watched the head table. All the teachers were solemn looking and a few were in conversation. She knew that some of them had lost loved ones to the war. As was true with almost everyone these days.

Luna sighed and rested her face on her hand. It was dinnertime and the sky was already dark.

"Hey Neville, have you seen Ginny lately?" asked Luna.

"The last I saw her was at lunch, actually." He frowned, as he finished off his mashed potatoes. Dinner was almost over, and it was very unlike Ginny to skip dinner.

"That's odd. I wonder where she went." Luna said dreamily. She played around with her food on her plate. "She was thinking about Harry earlier this afternoon, so she went for a walk to clear her head. That's the last I saw of her."

"It is strange that she hasn't shown up yet. Maybe she just went back to the tower." Neville gulped down his last bit of food, and looked to the doors. Luna could see that he wasn't convinced.

"Well, you know Ginny," Said Luna. "She's a free spirit that's been locked in a cage for the past few months. Maybe she's just been out flying on her broom or something." At Neville's wide-eyed look, she added, "Well, _I_ know that it's not allowed anymore, but I don't think Ginny would care much about the rules here. All she wants is to get out of here, and she only obeys them so that she doesn't hurt her family or McGonagall." Neville looked horrified at the idea of Ginny doing something like that.

"All of us are getting frustrated that we're trapped here at Hogwarts, unable to do anything with the war." She continued. "You especially, right Neville?"

This comment caused a dark look to cross Neville's face. He didn't answer her, but the look he gave to the air in front of him spoke loudly. She wasn't quite sure exactly what he was thinking, but she knew she was right. "Ginny's the same, you know. There's Bill, and Percy hasn't spoken to her since her fourth year. Ron's gone away with Harry doing Merlin knows what, not to mention Harry himself breaking up with her and just taking off with Ron and Hermione. Her whole family's right in the middle of everything, and don't forget her first year." She looked at Neville. "Ginny's got more reasons than most to want to take some kind of action against them."

Neville looked at her like she had two heads. Having regular conversation with Luna this year took some getting used to, but deep conversations like this one always took him a little bit off guard. "Yeah, b-but what does that have to do with her not showing up for dinner?" Luna twirled a piece of her long blonde hair absent-mindedly.

"My point is, she's been feeling restless and I'm sure that it's bound to lead to something. I don't know what, but I don't think that she'll want to stay around here much longer."

"Do you really think that she'd leave the castle?" he looked worried.

"Well, like my dad always said, Crumple-horned Snorkacks are almost impossible to find because if they come near to being captured, they will vanish into thin air." Luna said matter-of-factly. Neville stared.

"What?"

"Yes, I know, sad, isn't it?" Luna began humming to herself and picked up her latest version of the Quibbler that she had brought to dinner with her and began to read a news article about how some witch claimed a Death Eater came to her neighbourhood to destroy her neighbour's lawn decorations. Neville shook his head and went back to his dinner.

Five minutes later, Neville made a noise and she looked up to see him looking up at her, a worried frown crossing his features.

"Maybe she just decided to have dinner in the kitchens." He suggested hopefully. Luna almost smiled at Neville's inability to believe that someone would break the rules when there was not a pressing reason to do it.

"Yes, maybe she did."

They sat in silent thought for a while thinking about the odd possible scenarios, but a while later, Neville was worried.

"Okay Luna, I really think we should go look for her." Luna looked up. That thought had been on the back of her mind also.

"Yes, it _has_ been a long time. I hope nothing's happened."

"We should go look for her. It's too bad we don't have Harry's old map."

"Yeah. Alright then, you go look in the kitchen and the astronomy tower. I'll go look in Gryffindor tower and the room of requirement. Let's meet up in an hour back here, and we'll check the grounds.

…….

Ginny sat on the floor against the wall in the farthest corner of the room with her legs tucked up against her chest. An unsettling feeling was in the pit of her stomach. After kicking and shouting at the door for what seemed like an hour, Ginny got tired and had given up with that approach. She guessed she would just have to wait until someone came to her.

She needed to think of what she would do when that time came.

What would she do if he was violent? For some reason, Ginny didn't think he would be. She just had a feeling that since he had always been mean to her and her friends, but had never used his fist on anyone, he wouldn't do anything really bad. He would most likely use his wand, and unfortunately she had no defence against _that_.

There was nothing she could do if he took that approach. Ginny realised that she knew nothing of what he was going to do, or why. Not one single person in the order had been able to find where he was, or what he'd been up to, or even if he was alive at all. From the small tidbits that she managed to squeeze from the order members, death is the scenario that they'd thought was the most probable. But since he undoubtedly _was _still alive, she had to wonder how that was even possible. Wouldn't that mean that he was still in league with Voldemort? He had to be, or else wouldn't Voldemort have killed him himself? If Voldemort knew that he'd failed the task that was set for him…

Harry had told her that Draco wouldn't have killed Dumbledore. She knew that Harry certainly wasn't the best judge of things, but he wasn't stupid either.

Ginny couldn't see worth a damn because of the darkness, and she knew from her small tour around the room earlier that it would be a far stretch to find something useful she could use for a weapon anyway, so she decided to think about that later.

It wasn't much longer when the door opened. She heard it creak at first, and her head shot up, causing her to wince from the headache.

Bright light filled the room from behind the silhouette of his tall figure. Ginny scrambled to her feet, shading her eyes.

Draco Malfoy walked into the room and a light turned on above them. _What on earth? _She finally noticed a light switch on the wall. Ginny couldn't help but stare, stunned. She hadn't even considered muggle electricity. She'd automatically assumed that they were in a magical setting.

"Kneazle got your tongue, Weasley?"

The insulting voice brought her back to reality. She glared at the man in front of her. He stood in the middle of the room between her and the open door, watching her closely. His look was made of stone. Her eyes shifted to the open door behind him.

"Don't even bother. You'll never find your way out." He told her plainly. Ginny scowled. _That didn't mean she wouldn't try._

"Are you going to tell me what you want?" She told herself to control her temper for the time being, seeing as she was defenceless.

Draco advanced, walking slowly. "No." He stopped a few feet from her. Without the hood, she could see his face better. He almost looked...older…more intimidating. She told herself not to be scared of him. He hadn't done anything to her yet.

"No?" she repeated.

"Well, not in the sense you're looking for." He shrugged.

"What are you on about?" she asked. She had unintentionally taken a step backwards and she brushed the wall. "Bollocks." She whispered to herself. She realized she'd trapped herself in the corner. Draco's mouth twitched up in a smirk at her dilemma.

"You'd better listen closely, Ginny Weasley." He ordered. His gaze was steady and unnerving. Ginny knew that he was trying to act as though he had control over her. She resolved to make her standing clear to him. He continued, "You are here not by your choice, but by mine, so you will listen to my orders, or Merlin help you."

"You cannot bring me here and not tell me what it is you want." She snapped. "You went all the bloody way to Hogwarts to kidnap me, Merlin knows why, and you've taken me to a bloody _muggle_ house, which is a little bit out of character don't you think, Malfoy?" He stared at her angrily.

"Shut up you stupid witch." He interjected menacingly. "You are here because I brought you here, yes, to a _muggle-_" he grimaced. "-house. It is necessary. And if you do anything I don't like, I can do what I like with you. Don't forget that."

"I can hardly imagine that you've brought me here for the company, Malfoy. Obviously you have a reason, don't you?" she raised an eyebrow. "What is it then? Do you want revenge on me for hitting you with that bat-bogey hex a while back?" Ginny knew that this was utter rubbish. She found it difficult to imagine he'd go through all the trouble for that. Ginny almost smirked at the frown on Draco's face as he must have been recalling the memory himself. She thought that maybe if she kept on like this, he would slip up and tell her the truth. "Or is it because you think that kidnapping me will hurt Harry Potter? Are you going to try to lure him here to save me? Fat chance!" Just thinking of the subject of Harry put her in a bad mood. He'd just up and left with Ron and Hermione without a care for her. She knew that he did it to prevent anything from happening to her, but if it was the case here, then that would all be for nothing, wouldn't it?

Draco fought the urge to roll his eyes. If only she knew how wrong she was. "I am not interested in petty grudges or _Harry Potter_, Weasley." He advanced a couple of steps toward her. She wasn't afraid of him, it seemed. He decided that taunting her might do the trick. "What happened to wonder boy, then? Did he break it off with you?" Ginny clenched her fists, glaring. "I heard he disappeared off the face of the planet. What happened, Weasel? Did he take off with your brother and the mudblood into hiding and leave you behind? -Hey!"

Ginny had hit him in the face before she could stop herself. She now held her hand against her chest. "Watch it, you wench." He growled, touching his left eye.

"Shut up Malfoy! What makes you so special?" Ginny shouted at him. There were tears in her eyes. It angered her that he could be so right and so insulting at the same time. It hurt to hear it from someone else. "All you are is a bloody Death Eater! You probably go around raping and killing everyday!" The moment she'd said it, she'd known that she'd gone too far. A split second later, Malfoy had her pinned up against the wall. Her body hit the wall hard, making her wince. His face glared down at hers, his breathing was harsh and his nostrils were flaring. She looked into his eyes and saw a fury of emotions: anger, hatred, and what was it…desperation?

"You don't know what the hell you are talking about Weasley." He said with more control than it looked to her like he had.

"Really, Malfoy?" Her brown eyes glinting in anger, or was it fear? "Aren't you working with the Death Eaters? Was it their plan to kidnap me? Aren't you just Voldemort's pawn all over again? Do you have men outside that door somewhere that plan to beat me, or…or rape me?" His face was inches from hers as he looked at her menacingly. Ginny couldn't have stop herself even if she tried. The words came out of her mouth before she even knew she was saying them. "Or is that what _you're_ supposed to do?"

"Shut up!" he yelled, slamming his hand onto the wall beside her head, his face contorted in anger. Ginny winced, closing her eyes. She couldn't stop a tear from falling down her face. "You _will _listen to me. It is none of your bloody business why you are here-"

Ginny clenched her fist. _None of my business?_

"Let me go Malfoy, or you will be sorry." She struggled against his hold.

"-you will obey my rules or-"

"Or what? You'll kill me?" she snapped sarcastically.

There was a long pause as they glared at each other.

He started to say something, but it caught in his throat. Ginny watched as he gained back his resolve. His face closed down and she could no longer see any emotion there. Her unblinking eyes couldn't leave his face.

"Yes." Draco answered at last, disdain evident in his voice. "I will." With that, he turned and left the room, leaving Ginny to stare at the closed door in shock.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: This story is based on the Harry Potter universe, which is JKR's.

A/N: Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I really appreciate it! I am sorry for the wait. I've been really busy with school, but I've just finished my exams, and the new semester starts soon, which means that I should be able to write more. So I will try my hardest to update more frequently. This half of the school year should be a lot easier too, which I'm very happy about. Thanks to everyone who wished me a happy birthday. I had a good time. Anyway, about the chapter… I hope you like it! Things will be revealed eventually, and I just hope everything makes sense. I'm trying to keep everyone in-character, but I don't know if that's turning out as well as I'd like. Please read and review! I like to hear your thoughts. Thanks!

Keep the Faith

Chapter 3

After leaving her, Draco had paced around the house for a long while trying to clear his head. He now stood fuming in a hallway on the upper lever of the muggle house he had spent a month preparing. He was angry. He was disgusted. He hadn't planned for any of that to happen.

A dim light from a room at the end of the hall lit his path. He hit the wall with his fist with all the built up frustration he possessed and then leaned back up against it. Staring angrily at the green-patterned wallpaper on the wall opposite him, he ran a hand through his platinum blond hair.

Everything was going wrong. She was supposed to fear him. He _needed_ her to fear him, or else how would he get her to cooperate? She hadn't even given him the chance to talk. He scowled to himself. She was fiery, all right, to the point of fault. He'd expected a fight, of course, but he never imagined that she would get to him like she had. _Although, being a blood-traitor like she is_, Draco thought to himself, _maybe I should have expected it_. They were too different. There was no reason why he should have been able to predict her reactions.

Why couldn't he have just kept his bloody head?

Draco frowned. He was supposed to have more control over the situation. He had to regain control over her, but how? He could intimidate her into thinking that he _was_ going to kill her, and it's true that maybe he'd done that much already just before he'd stormed out. He smirked, thinking at the joy it would give him to have her at his mercy.

Draco pushed himself off the wall, and made his way down the hall to a closed door. The wood was dark, as it was within the whole house. He turned the cool brass doorknob and entered a reasonably sized bathroom, switching the light on. He looked in the mirror.

"Shit." He muttered to himself. The area around his left eye was beginning to bruise. He touched it lightly, and winced.

The bloody girl had given him a black eye. It wasn't exactly the first time he'd been hit by a girl. Draco thought back to his third year when that know-it-all mudblood, Hermione, had hit him. And Pansy had come close, once or twice, but she'd never built up the nerve to do it. Draco cringed. He got a funny feeling in the pit of his stomach every time he thought of her. He hadn't had any contact with her in what must have been half a year.

But he'd certainly been hurt worse than this in the past several months, there was no denying it; however, those injuries had been under entirely different circumstances. It had been a while since he'd been hurt on his own fault for instigating something. He always felt angry after one of those occurences because he knew that he was either right, or he deserved it. Neither was satisfying because his point never got across to the person that hit him.

But on the other hand, when it wasn't his fault…it was a lot worse. The pain _and_ the anguish. Anyone would be crazy not to think so. Draco turned on the tap and splashed some cold water on his face, glaring all the while. _This stupid war…_He wouldn't think about that now. He picked up a towel and dried off his dripping face. With one last glance in the mirror he smoothed his hair into place and left the room.

Draco turned and walked out and down the hall and into another room. This room was embellished with a fireplace and many couches. He flicked a switch on the wall, lighting up a couple of lamps. Draco could not get used to it; the whole muggle thing. And he would certainly never feel anything but contempt for it. It was stupid really. Why would anyone want to bother with it? Who knew how muggles survived their whole lives without magic? It was infuriating to think that he had reduced himself to this for the time being. But he had no choice. It was what he needed to do.

The room was a library of sorts, and bookshelves lined the walls. Draco walked over and picked up the Daily Prophet from a wooden table, and sat down to read it. He'd read most of it earlier that same day, but as he had nothing to do but wait, he didn't mind reading it again, it was better than reading one of the muggle books in the room. Draco cast an irritated glance through the pages.

He wondered how long it would take Ginny Weasley to figure out that he'd left the door to her room unlocked. She would surely find out soon enough that there was no where to go. _That_ might prove to entertain him.

…….

Luna and Neville were out on the grounds. It was dark, and they technically weren't supposed to be outside past dark, so to ease Neville's constant worrying, Luna had agreed to go appeal to Hagrid for help. At first when he'd opened up his door to them, he'd been angry that they were out and about at night, as was expected, but quickly enough invited them inside, offering to make tea. Luna had quickly explained to him that they needed to find Ginny.

Hagrid had immediately gotten his crossbow, which Luna and Neville thought was a bit extreme, but Hagrid assured them that it was just precaution and they went out to look for Ginny. Now they were out on the grounds searching for her in the dark. Wands were lit and they stayed close enough to speak to each other without having to yell.

Neville walked over to the big tree by the lake. He was determined to find Ginny. Luna was right before. They all did have reasons to do something about the war. Even if Ginny's reaction was to run away, or something of the sort, that was alright for her if it's what she wanted. But if something else had happened to her, like if she was hurt or something… Neville had made up his mind to help by making sure that she was alright. He was going to find her, and find out what had happened to her.

The thought that maybe she was still inside the castle somewhere without a clue that they were worried about her was prominent in the back of his mind, and he knew that he would probably feel rather foolish if she was absolutely fine.

But then again, if that wasn't the case…

Looking behind him, he saw Luna and Hagrid searching nearby and they seemed to be having a quiet conversation. He figured that Luna was filling in the blanks for Hagrid. He never could figure out whether or not she liked Hagrid. He remembered in his fifth year that she'd called him a joke of a teacher.

Without pretence, Neville tripped and fell forward with a startled shout.

Luna and Hagrid were running over to him as he sat up. _Great, why do I always have to be so clumsy? _Neville scolded himself as he reached for his wand that had fallen from his hand. _I didn't mean to distract them. They'll just think I'm pathetic. _He held up the wand in front of him as the others caught up to him.

"Neville? Wha' happened? Are ye alrigh'?" Asked Hagrid's worried voice. Neville didn't answer. He was too busy staring at the ground in front of him.

Lit brightly from the light emitted from his wand was none other than Ginny's red scarf. Neville could recognize it anywhere.

"Is that…?" Hagrid began, trailing off in comprehension.

All three of them looked on in silence for a few moments, thinking of the inclinations. Luna slowly reached down and picked it up. She had a wide-eyed look that Neville couldn't interpret. He could never tell what she was thinking.

"Year two, come with me. _And_ _stay close_." Said Hagrid suddenly, his weapon up and armed as he stomped off toward the castle. "We need ter tell Professor D- Professor McGonagall. She'll know what ter do."

Neville's face paled as he shared a glance with Luna before standing up and going after him.

…….

A while later, a soft noise interrupted Draco's thoughts. He glanced sideways to the door. "Alright Malfoy, There is no way out. Now what are you going to do with me?" Ginny's angry voice drifted through the room. She stood in the doorway, leaning against the frame, glaring at him. He raised an eyebrow. _That was easy…too easy._ He narrowed his eyes. Why was she cooperating so fast? With a second glance, he noticed that she was relying on that door frame a little too much.

He didn't say anything, just looked at her. She was a complete mess, a trait that he associated with the name Weasley. She wore a cloak wrapped tightly around her, arms crossed. Her long red Weasley hair fell around her face in a mess of waves. A dust of freckles stood out against very pale skin. Despite the fact that she looked like she'd crawled out of the gutter, Ginny looked at him behind dark eyes with defiance and confidence, like she was better than him. Like she was the one in control of the conversation. It was infuriating.

Why didn't he have any effect on her?

_But she seems willing to cooperate. _He frowned. Just not how he'd expected. He didn't know if this was good or not.

"Um… Malfoy?" She brought him out of his thought. He looked back into her eyes. She was looking at him strangely. She seemed to be expecting something. Oh…right.

Draco stood up and walked past her to the door. "Well, come on then." He said, implying that she follow him. With a dangerous glance back at her, he left the room. Ginny hesitated for a moment, and then followed him.

Draco slowed down for her to catch up. "So you've come to your senses then?" he remarked snidely. "But then I guess since you're a _Weasley_, you're bound to do what you're told eventually."

Ginny grit her teeth and tried her hardest to ignore the comment. Bad enough that he had threatened to kill her; he also had to taunt her. She had enough difficulty on her own just trying to stay calm enough to not start a fight. They made their way down the stairs to the main floor.

"What are we doing?" Ginny asked irritably, she was tired and wanted to lie down. Truth be told, Ginny didn't feel well at all. She was drained of all her energy and she felt faint. That's not to mention the constant headache that had plagued her since she'd woken up.

"Impatient, Weasley?" he shot her a superior sideways glance and raised an eyebrow. "Trust me, we have time."

"Humph." Ginny glared straight forward. Draco smirked and stopped. She had to catch herself from bumping into him.

"Ok. Well this is the main floor." Draco interrupted the silence. Ginny looked at him like he was mad. _ What is he doing? _He was speaking in that old unconcerned drawl of his. She found it annoying. Or was it just _him_ that grated her nerves? "Over there," he point to one side of the house. "Is the living room. There is a muggle television in there, if you like that sort of thing. No idea what it bloody does." He said, obviously repelled by the idea of using a muggle television. She could hear the muggle-aversion in his voice.

Ginny frowned, looking where he was pointing, wondering why he was telling her this. He pointed to the room in which she had been imprisoned. "There's nothing in there, it is a guest room of sorts. The couch folds out into a bed I think." He pointed somewhere else. "Bathroom is there. And over here," he walked through a threshold and into the kitchen. "Well, it's a kitchen, obviously." The kitchen was lined with shelves. There was a lot of counter space and numerous appliances. There was also a breakfast bar lined with tall stools. Off to the side, in what could be considered another room, was a table and chairs. "I'm sure you'll be able to find anything you need in the cupboards."

He turned and led the way back upstairs. "You've obviously found out for yourself that you can't get out of the house. I should probably mention that anybody outside looking in will not be able to see or hear you."

The upstairs was a bunch of rooms connecting to the hallway. "These rooms here are bedrooms. This one here is mine. _Don't_ go in it there." He glanced sideways at her and saw that she frowned still, and smirked.

"The room you found me in, it's sort of a library, so you can read what you want from there." He took her into a room and stopped. Ginny followed suit. "This is your room." Ginny cringed as he had just confirmed what she had feared: that she would be forced to stay here for a while. The room was fairly large with a huge double bed covered with a pink and white comforter. There was a couch by the window and a vanity dresser against one wall. In the corner, the room opened up into a large walk-in closet. "In that closet over there you'll find all the clothes you'll need. Brand new of course." Draco turned to leave the room, and stopped when Ginny started to follow him again.

"As you might have guessed by now, you are free to roam the house and do as you will. You don't need to follow me around like a dog anymore, Weasley."

Ginny put her hands on her hips and scoffed. She narrowed her eyes at him and then turned around to go sit on the bed. _The nerve of him, threatening to bloody kill me if I disobey him and then ridiculing me when I do listen to him. What a prick. What a stupid selfish git. _

While Ginny was ranting to herself in her head, Draco stood in the doorway watching her fume. She didn't notice him. It gave him a sick pleasure seeing her this way. He felt the urge to make her miserable.

"Not that you could ever afford food, Weasley, but since this is on me," he fought an evil smirk; the comment was derived to infuriate her. "I would suggest eating something, and sleeping, because you look like a ghost."

And before she knew it, he was gone.

Ginny let out an angry huff and lay back on her bed and stared up at the ceiling.

What was his game? She'd initially been surprised that he'd left the door open, but he hadn't been surprised to see her at all. She'd found that there was no way out like he'd said, and she'd thought that he must have been every bit as cruel as he'd like her to think. But then she'd seen him in the room down the hall, and he didn't even look the slightest bit perturbed. It annoyed her so much that he acted as though he had been expecting her.

She'd decided earlier to behave like he wanted her to for her own sake. She wanted to know what he wanted, and she didn't want him to react like before and actually hurt her the next time. Ginny was confident that everyone would be looking for her. Knowing that people like Moody, Tonks, Remus Lupin, and her parents would be looking for her made her feel better. They would find her…they had to.

And then he showed her around the house, and given her her own bloody room! What did that mean? She was obviously expected to stay for a long time. To do what? To entertain him? Doubtful. To have sex with him? Not if she could help it. Was it something to do with the war? She knew that Death Eaters were quite often reported to abuse and rape witches.

Was Malfoy really a Death Eater? In the back of her mind she knew that it was true, but something didn't quite add up.

He doesn't even like me, so why on earth does he want me to live in the same house as him?

A muggle house.

It didn't make any bloody sense!

If it wasn't his doing, if it was for someone else, like other death eaters, or Voldemort even, then where were they? It had to be him.

Ginny gave a scream of frustration and sat up.

There was only one explanation that made sense.

_She was a hostage._

If he wouldn't tell her what was going on, then she would get it out of him.

But right now she would avoid him at all costs. She _was_ scared of him, even though she didn't want to admit it. He did have power over her, and she didn't know him well enough to determine whether or not he was serious about killing her.

Ginny stood up and went over to the mirror. She looked back at herself with mild disgust. Her hair was a mess, she was pale and she felt dirty. No wonder he had made that comment about her.

Before, when she'd first seen him in the room, she'd felt a glimmer of satisfaction that she'd given Draco a fair sized black eye, and right now, because she felt like hurting him again, the feelings returned and she couldn't help but smile humourlessly at the thought.

Ginny made her way into the walk-in closet. She felt humiliated at the fact that she would have to wear something probably bought by Malfoy himself. He _did_ say they were new. Ginny looked through everything, seeing what was there.

One thing that she'd noticed earlier that she found very strange, was that Malfoy had not once used his wand against her, not even just for normal things, like turning on a light. There was also the fact that this was a _muggle_ house. It was all very strange. As she'd said before, it really _was_ very uncharacteristic of him, considering that the last she knew, he hated everything muggle.

What reason could he possibly have to completely stop using magic?

Ginny shook herself out of her thoughts and picked out some things to wear for pyjamas. There was quite a variety of things there. Ginny picked out a pair of green plaid flannel bottoms and a matching top. She walked back into the room and put them on the bed, deciding to get a shower and then after that she'd go to bed. Ginny _was_ very hungry, but she decided that she'd rather risk not having food than the chance that she'd run into him somewhere along the way.


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K. Rowling.

A/N: I know that it's been over a month since I've updated. I'm sorry! I'll try harder. Promise! ;) Thanks to everyone who reviewed! I hope you all enjoy this chapter. It's probably not what you expect. It's a bit longer than the others, though. Please tell me what you think!

Keep the Faith

Chapter 4

Ginny woke up around eight the next morning. After lying in bed for a while, remembering what happened the day before, her nerves took over, and she was physically sick. Ever since, all she'd been feeling was self pity and frustration with her situation. She settled with trying to find a way to make Draco Malfoy spill the secrets he kept from her.

It was an hour before she couldn't stand it any longer. She needed to eat something. Giving in to her hunger, Ginny opened the crack of her door and peered out. No sign of Malfoy; she breathed a sigh of relief. Creeping out, she shut the door quietly, and walked quietly down the hall. She noticed details that she hadn't the night before, like the dark wood colour and the green pattern of the wallpaper. Very Malfoy-ish. Ginny descended quietly down the stairs and stopped at the bottom. She peered around the wall to see if her way was clear. She saw that he wasn't in the kitchen, and he wasn't at the table. Ginny straightened, and walked into the room, more relaxed.

Ginny opened up the fridge, and looked inside. She was hungry, but she realised that nothing seemed appetizing in the least. Ginny poured herself a glass of pumpkin juice and rummaged through the cupboards. Ginny took out a thing of pancake mix and a pan. It was her favourite breakfast, and if she had to force herself to eat something, that was her best bet. She turned on the stove and proceeded to make the pancakes.

She found some maple syrup, and butter, and put it all on the table. Ginny sat down. She frowned. It seemed like she'd made a lot more than she'd intended. It made sense, really, considering that when she normally cooked, it was for a large family; three people at a minimum.

Ginny stared at the table in front of her for a long while, unable to find her appetite. She was seriously contemplating getting up and walking away. She didn't want to eat. She needed to eat, but she didn't want to.

Ginny twirled a fork in one hand and rested her chin in the other. Eventually, Ginny looked away. She decidedly stood up, her decision made to not eat.

She'd half risen from the table when Draco Malfoy entered the room, and she froze into place like a deer in headlights. Malfoy stopped in his tracks when he saw her. They glared at one another for a moment, until Malfoy's eyes shifted down to the table. His brow creased in puzzlement for a moment. Then he looked back up at her with a look of cynical understanding.

"Going somewhere?" he asked, his voice an undertone of sarcasm.

Ginny mentally shook herself. "Yes, as a matter of fact." She replied with an air of defiance. "I wouldn't want to stay in the same room as you for longer than necessary." Ginny stepped away from the table and made her way to stalk past Draco out of the room.

Draco rolled his eyes, and caught her by the arm as she made to walk by. "Not so fast Weasley."

Ginny looked at where he touched her for a moment, and then glared up at him, trying to wrench her arm free. "Let go of me." She demanded. He ignored her. He wasn't holding her hard, but his grip was iron.

He glared back, and then relented. He sighed, his scrutinizing silver eyes never leaving her face. "Would you stay and eat something if I left?"

Ginny looked at him, speculating.

"No." She didn't know why she didn't just lie to him, and the look in his eyes told her that it would have been easier for her if she had. But she couldn't make herself eat. Ginny glanced over to the table, distracted for a moment. She suddenly felt nauseous.

"Then go sit back down." He commanded with an air of authority that was, to Ginny, undeserved. Ginny looked back at him to see that he'd narrowed his eyes.

"I'm not hungry." She looked away.

"Yes I can see that." She couldn't tell if he was being sarcastic or not. "You made all of that and you're not going to eat it?" The question was rhetorical. Ginny didn't answer. She looked back at the table.

With his grip back on her arm, Malfoy guided her back to the table and forced her to sit down. Ginny's glare returned full force.

"Listen, Weasley. You haven't eaten since early yesterday. You _have_ to be hungry, and if you aren't, your body needs the food, so I'm going to sit here," he sat down opposite her, crossing his arms. "Until you eat something."

Ginny begrudgingly picked up her fork, and cast an annoyed glance at Draco. He raised an eyebrow in response.

Ginny poured syrup on a pancake and took a small bite. Her original sick feeling was overruled by her hunger, and the more she ate, the more she felt better. Momentarily at least.

As he sat there watching her, Ginny noticed the darkness around his grey eyes. He obviously hadn't gotten much sleep, or was that partially from the black eye? She felt another twinge of satisfaction at the recent memory.

"Why do you care whether or not I eat, Malfoy?"

"I don't." he shrugged.

Ginny gave him a sceptical look. "Really."

"Really." He repeated.

Malfoy stood up suddenly and made his way to the fridge to pour himself a glass of juice.

"Malfoy?"

"What Weasley?" his unforgiving voice made her cringe.

Ginny paused, knowing she was repeating herself, but not able to stop herself.

"What are you going to do with me?"

Draco cast a sideways look at her from where he stood leaning against the counter. He proceeded to ignore her.

Ginny inwardly fumed for a minute. How was she going to get past his barrier and get him to reveal something?

"Fine, don't tell me." She huffed.

"Okay I won't." He smirked.

"Malfoy you are infuriating."

"Well you're not exactly a pile of sweets either." he deadpanned.

"Then why on earth am I here? You don't want my company obviously."

"You couldn't be more right." The dark look he gave her sent her chills. "You're a Weasley. Who would want your company?"

Ginny's face burned with chagrin, and she knew that her ears had probably turned red from the heat. It was a family trait. Ginny knew she should expect comments like that from him, but deep down, she couldn't help from feeling hurt and humiliated. Ginny stood up angrily, all sense of self-preservation lost with her pride.

"More people than would want the company of a _Malfoy_, that's for sure." She bit out. "You're all just horrible monsters aren't you?"

Malfoy's anger turned up a notch. "You don't know anything about us Weasley." He faced her angrily.

"Well then, enlighten me." Her voice shook. "Are you not all Death Eaters? Are you not murderers?-" she stopped, not because she'd crossed the same line again, but for seeing the stricken look on Draco's face. It was covered by his glare a moment after. Had she really seen that? Did he not realise what he was like?

"Shut up Weasley." His voice had a different tone to it than before. Was he offended? Or did she just imagine that?

"No. I won't. I mean, what kind of man kidnaps a defenceless girl? Obviously you have some devious plan. Are you trying to lure somebody here to kill them? My family maybe? You're a cold heartless bastard Malfoy. You all are."

The words were out before she could stop herself. Ginny cursed herself for letting her mouth speak before her mind. She was never very good at hiding her emotions or opinions. "And I'll believe that all I want, unless you're willing to prove me wrong."

And with that she marched out of the room, avoiding Draco's eyes.

Draco stared after her, motionless as his hand gripped his empty glass of juice.

He set it down hard on the counter. He turned and gripped the edges of the counter, staring into the empty sink. He couldn't think. The little witch was infuriating.

What the hell did she know?

Draco closed his eyes. Her opinion meant nothing. He _should_ just ignore everything she'd said, but somehow he couldn't. She did have reason to think that Draco was a Death Eater, considering that she must have known, along with everyone else that he had been working for Lord Voldemort last year and she obviously thinks he's a murderer because of the fact that he'd threatened her life. Of course she would think these things. He wanted her to think these things. So why did it bother him so much?

No one had ever said anything like that to him before her, not at least with so much hatred and conviction.

Draco forced himself to put it in the back of his mind. There was no logical reason he was thinking like this, and forced himself to forget about it.

He made his way to his room, and sat down in a leather armchair in the corner. He picked up what looked like a normal pad of paper. He twisted it around with his hands absentmindedly. This was his only communication out of the house. There was another one, identical to this, and when he wrote in this one, whatever he'd written would show up in the other. Draco flipped over the cover sheet, and froze, surprised to see words written there. He read them.

_Draco. They know. Write the letter now. _

The message was short and sweet, and to him, it made perfect sense. Those who were essential to his plan now knew that Ginny was missing. If he acted soon, then they would have no reason to go public. Draco picked up a quill from the table next to him, and found some ink in the drawer.

Dipping his quill in the ink, Draco began to write, a feeling of hope that now his plan would really begin.

_To Mr. Weasley, … _

He finished the letter and it disappeared on the paper.

Ginny had flopped down on the couch, an old book open across her stomach, and she hadn't moved in the last twenty minutes.

She was currently in the library. She'd put the fire on, and the heat now spread throughout the cold room, giving it a lazy atmosphere. Ginny listened to the crackling fire absentmindedly.

After hiding away in her room since she'd lost her temper at breakfast, Ginny had gotten bored with nothing to do, so she'd explored a little bit. Curiosity had gotten hold of her when she'd come across this room for a second time. Now that it was no longer occupied with Malfoy's unwanted presence, it looked much more inviting, and she'd taken the opportunity to look around. Shelves upon shelves of books lined the walls, and Ginny went around and picked out a random book. It turned out to be some sort of mystery novel. She'd read about a hundred pages into it only to discover that it was about a kidnapping. This brought her current situation to mind, which reading the book had managed to block out for a couple of hours. Frustrated, Ginny had thrown the book across the room, where it fell to the ground, abandoned.

She'd then rummaged around the bookshelves a little more in hopes to find something a little more cheerful to occupy her mind with, and she happily found an old book of fairy tales. She'd gotten through about five stories when she realised that every princess had her prince, and every girl had her knight in shining armour. To her dismay, it did nothing to cheer her up. In fact, she found herself becoming more and more depressed. _She_ didn't have a knight in shining armour, not even a knight in rusty armour. The only people who would go through any lengths to rescue her were her parents and her brothers. And the order, she'd thought belatedly. But she had no one like these fairy tale princesses had.

But then there was Harry.

Would _he_ do anything to save her? Undoubtedly he would, Ginny mused, but not for the reasons she wanted. He would do it not because it was her that he loved, which he didn't Ginny reminded herself, but because it was the right thing to do. Not to mention the fact that he _had_ disappeared off the planet. Ginny supposed that in a way, he was like a brother. Even though he'd broken her heart, he had always been like a part of her family, ever since she was ten and he was eleven, her parents had treated him like their own son. Even last summer, he was a groomsman at Bill's wedding. Fleur had been insistent on that point. Ginny cringed as she thought of the bittersweet memory…

_The day had been bright and sunny. The outdoor wedding was to take place in the backyard at two in the afternoon. The Burrow was alive with people. All the Weasleys were there, save Percy, but Ginny knew not to dwell on that so as not to ruin the mood. All morning people began to arrive to help prepare for the event. Bill's friends were there, all laughing and having a good time, and Fleur's family were being introduced to the Weasleys. Ginny sat down on the porch, taking a break from kitchen duty, and watched everyone having a good time and catching up. Lunch was in the process of being made for the guests, and Molly had insisted that Ginny help. _

"_Ginny!" Ginny turned her head to the sound. Fleur was making her way toward her, followed by her family. There was a skip to her step, showing her obvious happiness. Ginny smiled a bright smile for her benefit, and tried to stop herself from inwardly cringing. Phlegm, the name was mostly habit by now, had been worse than normal in the past week, as her excitement began to build up. Ginny had taken most of the brunt of it, as she was the only other girl in the house. Fleur gave a twirl and stopped, beaming in front of Ginny. "Hi Fleur." She stood up. _

"_Zees eez maman, et papa." She motioned to her parents. Ginny nodded to them kindly. They were very striking people, and Ginny could see where Fleur got her mesmerising looks. "And do you remember my seester, Gabrielle?" Ginny said yes, as she vaguely remembered the girl from her third year. _

_Fleur turned back to her family. "Ça c'est Ginny Weasley. Elle est la petit soeur de Bill." She sang in her own language. Ginny knew enough french by now to know that she didn't like being called petit, and she had to bite her tongue from frowning. _

_And with that, Fleur bounced away with her parents in tow. Ginny sat back down, before she noticed that Gabrielle stood there still. _

"_Bonjour." She smiled at Ginny. Ginny smiled back. _

"_Hi." She replied. "Have a seat." She patted the porch next to her. _

_Gabrielle's smile grew brighter and she sat down beside her. _

"_Are you excited? We are going to be… comment est-ce qu'on le dit,… seesters-in-law!" Ginny nodded, trying to be friendly, but she couldn't help but notice just how much of her demeanour was like her sisters. _

_Gabrielle started talking about the wedding plans, and after a while, Ginny began to notice that she wasn't so self-absorbed as Fleur, just friendly, and she began to enjoy the conversation. _

_But then suddenly, Gabrielle grasped Ginny's arm and squealed excitedly. "La voila! C'est Harry Potter!" Ginny followed her look and saw that she was indeed right. Harry was walking down the laneway with Ron and Hermione. They had all been staying with Harry since the beginning of the summer. Ginny's heart lifted for a brief moment before sinking in her chest. _

_Ginny watched as Gabrielle ran over to them and launched herself on Harry who at first looked shocked, but then laughed. She couldn't hear what Gabrielle was saying, but she seemed to have a lot to say. Ginny took the moment to study them. Ginny knew Gabrielle was young, maybe thirteen, but she had an intimidating beauty, like her sister. Her long silver blonde hair glittered in the sun, her perfect figure accented by flattering robes. Ginny felt immensely inadequate in comparison. A feeling of irritation overcame her as she noticed Harry's attention was focused on the girl. She was openly flirting with him, and he didn't seem to mind. _

_As she watched them all chatting away, Harry's eyes met hers and it seemed like time stopped. He excused himself and made his way over to her. Ginny smiled as he approached. He took a seat beside her, a little farther than was maybe necessary. Ginny had to fight the urge to inch closer to him. A month ago, she would have done it mindlessly, but now, she knew he didn't want her to. _

"_Hi Harry." She said, not quite looking at him. _

"_How are you Ginny?" She hadn't realised until that moment, just how much she'd missed his voice. _

"_Fine." She looked into his green eyes. Why did he have to be so damn good looking?_

"_I-" he began, and then stopped. He looked away. _

"_Ginny!" Molly's voice yelled from the kitchen. "Come in here and help me! You've been sitting out there for quite a while now."_

"_Okay mum!" Ginny yelled back and rolling her eyes comically at Harry, she said to him: "Duty calls. See you later, yeah?" And she went inside, leaving him alone on the porch. _

_The rest of the afternoon went as planned. The wedding was beautiful, Bill had never seemed happier. Ginny, clad in a full length, tight-fitting gold dress, hair done up like princess, all from the direction of Fleur of course, had walked down the isle arm in arm with one of Bill's friends. Gabrielle went arm in arm with Harry. And even though she knew the girl was young, Ginny had a hard time getting rid of the jealous feelings so that she could feel happy for Bill. _

_She had managed to not think about Harry for the rest of the day, entertaining herself with her brothers and other friends of Bill's that she'd never before met. _

_At the very end of the night, when most guests had gone, and Ginny was on her way up to her room to undress and shower, when she passed by Ron's room. Ron's voice called her from within. She peaked her head into his room. Harry and Hermione were all sitting together looking grave. _

"_What is it Ron?" She asked. _

"_We need to talk to you." He said quietly. "Close the door on your way in." _

_She did just that, more curious than ever about their solemn expressions. She sat down on the bed with them. "What's the matter?" she asked. _

"_Well, here's the long and short of it Ginny." It was Hermione who spoke this time, putting a comforting hand on her knee. "Well, you see…" she trailed off, sharing a look with Ron. _

"_The three of us are leaving." Harry finished for her. He refused to look at Ginny. _

"_What do you mean, leaving?" A cold fear filled her insides. _

"_Indefinitely." Said Ron again. "I'm sorry Gin. We can't tell you what we're doing. It's complicated."_

"_You could say that it's too dangerous for anyone to know what we're doing." Said Hermione with an apologetic look. "I'm sorry. This means we're saying goodbye Ginny. We'll be gone tomorrow."_

_Ginny looked between the three of them, shock coursing through her. She felt somehow…betrayed. Admittedly, she knew Harry was bound to do something of this nature. She'd expected that, but for him to bring Hermione and Ron? Why was she always excluded from their plans? She cared just as much as them. _

"_Harry," her voice shook. "Can I speak to you for a moment?" he nodded and followed her out to the hallway. _

"_Take me with you, Harry." She said once the door was closed. "Whatever you're doing, I want to go with you." _

"_No. You can't."_

"_Why not?" she said angrily, tears making an appearance._

"_Because it's too dangerous. The less people that know, the better. Trust me." He inched closer to her in what seemed like concern._

"_But you're letting Ron and Hermione go with you?" _

_Harry looked away, his expression pained for a moment, as Ginny knew he searched for an answer for her. Ginny tried a different approach. She felt bitter, seeing him open to the silver-haired girl's flirting all day. "Did you ever care for me at all, because if you did, you will at least consider this." _

_When he didn't answer, Ginny continued, "Why are you doing this? Do you honestly not care for me?"_

_When he didn't answer, Ginny mustered up the courage and kissed him with a last desperate hope. Her kiss was forceful. At first he didn't react, but then Ginny felt butterflies as his lips moved greedily against hers and his hands brushed over her hips. _

_But then he stepped back, and pushed her away. Ginny stood frozen as she saw the dark look in his eyes that had certainly not been there before. _

"_Harry?" she asked tentatively, all thoughts gone. There was a strange look in his eyes and she didn't like it. _

"_Don't-" he began angrily, but never continued._

"_No." he repeated, his face frustrated. "I'm sorry Gin. You're not coming. It's for your own good." He said with a tone of finality._

_It wasn't until he'd returned to the room that she realised that the look he'd had was one she actually saw quite often, just never aimed at her. _

_Cold anger. It filled her with a cold emptiness that she hadn't been able to be rid of for months. _

Ginny shivered, remembering.

The next day they had gone, and she hadn't seen or heard from them since. That had been one of the worst moments of her life, to realize that your love was unrequited. It had taken her months to start feeling like she could live without them.

Ginny groaned and covered her eyes with her hand. Why did she have to go thinking about him now? It always made her feel worse. Ginny stood up to go put the traitorous book back where it belonged. She swayed on the spot, having to hold onto the armrest so as not to fall over. She felt kind of woozy from the heat of the fire, so Ginny settled for putting the book down on the nearest table and lay back down.

With nothing else to do, Ginny's mind wandered back to the morning's argument.

Why couldn't she keep her temper in check? She should have just kept her own mouth shut. And she should definitely do that from now on if she wanted to live. Thinking that sentence was frustrating because in all honesty, he did _not_ behave like a killer. For Merlin's sake he was forcing her to eat food and basically ignoring her. But why on earth was he offended? Okay, it's true that I was offended when he talked about _my_ family, but his reaction differed from the night before. Last night he was furious, but today he didn't say anything. What does that even mean?

Ginny didn't know what to make of any of this. He didn't make any sense.

_I have to get something out of him. How? I don't know. _

It was evening when Draco entered the library with the purpose of finding an old Daily Prophet newspaper. He barely made it into the room before he stopped short. The first thing he noticed was the warmth of the room and the soft light from the burning embers in the fireplace. The second thing he noticed was the red-headed girl asleep on the couch. Bemused, Draco walked further into the room. He found the stack of newspapers he wanted and rummaged through them to find the right one. Apparently he was making too much noise for her, because soon enough, Ginny's sleepy head lifted up in his direction, giving him an annoyed look before groaning and snuggling further into the couch.

"You know, Weasley. You do have a very nice bed that you can sleep on instead of that old couch." He told her, and Ginny started mumbling rude things into the couch. He smirked.

When he turned to leave, Draco looked down at the table and snorted. "Oh bloody hell Weasley. Fairy Tales?"

He heard a muffled growl. He couldn't help but snicker.

He picked the book up and stepped closer to her. "Out of all the books in here, this is what you read?" his mocking amusement evident.

A string of words followed, but he couldn't discern what she'd said, though he thought he heard the word prince and maybe the word wanker.

"What was that Weasley? You're talking to the fabric."

"I said, sod off." She opened her unfocused eyes and turned slightly to glare at him. The words came out half-heartedly, and the glare wasn't even full force.

Draco narrowed his eyes, puzzled at her strange behaviour. Something seemed off about her. "Weasley what's the matter with you?"

Ginny slowly raised herself to a sitting position. "What do you think is the matter with me? _You're here_." She raised a hand to her forehead as if in pain. "Feel free to go away, Malfoy." She groaned.

But Draco didn't move. He scrutinised her. Her face was flushed, she was sleeping all day, her head apparently hurt, and she won't eat. She's obviously sick, he thought, annoyed. Why did she have to get sick? Great that just makes matters _so_ much better.

"Are you sick?" his voice full of disgust.

She stared back. "No." she leaned back slowly, sinking into the couch once more.

"Right. You're a bad liar, Weasley."

"You're quite wrong actually. I'm a bloody good liar. Ask my brothers. I'm even better than they are." Her weak voice was full of conviction.

Draco scrutinised her for a moment. _That doesn't say much._ "Well how very nice for you, Weasley, but I'd rather not talk to any of your twelve or so brothers." He looked disturbed at the thought.

"Six."

"What?"

"I have _six_ brothers, thank you."

"Great Weasley. Don't care."

Ginny opened an eye and gave him a look, which still seemed to have that annoying, superiority quality to it that so infuriated him. She then smirked an unexplained smirk at him before lying back down and ignoring him completely.

Draco closed his eyes, keeping down his temper and then turned and walked out of the room. He made his way to his bedroom.

Draco shut the door completely, and paced around for a while. What was he going to do? How bloody annoying for her to get sick. _Great timing, Weasley, while we're stuck in the middle of nowhere with no access to magic. Be ill on your own time._

He threw the paper down on the desk and leaned against the wall, crossing his arms. He considered his options. He could let her be and see if she gets better on her own. But then she probably wouldn't eat anything and that would make her worse. Or, he would be forced to take care of her. The horrifying notion filled him with dread for a moment, until he remembered something. Draco pushed himself off the wall and walked into the rather large bathroom that attached to his room. The bathroom was impeccably clean and organized. Draco paused for a moment, before pushing aside a curtain that looked like it should cover a window to find a secret cabinet. Pulling the door open, Draco stared for a moment. This stuff wasn't technically for this purpose, but… he remembered how to do it. Making up his mind, Draco grabbed a couple of vials from it and closed it all back up. Taking a clean glass from beside the sink, Draco began his mixture.

Half an hour later Draco re-entered the room in a much better mood. What surprised him the most was that doing something even remotely related to magic put him in a better mood than he had been since staying in this wretched house. The room had darkened even more, and was only mildly lit from the light in the hallway.

Ginny was in the exact same position as before. Draco went over and sat on the sturdy coffee table in front of the couch.

"Weasley." He said, none too gently. She didn't move.

"Hey, Weasley." He said a little louder.

She groaned a little. "What do you _want_ Malfoy?"

He didn't answer.

Ginny sat up slowly, all the while glaring at the man that interrupted her sleep.

"Well?" she demanded.

"Drink this." Ginny suddenly noticed the drink he held toward her and stared at it, uncomprehending. Ginny's eyes narrowed suspiciously. Then she moved her eyes to Draco's face. He was watching her with a closed expression.

"No." she told him. Draco's expression darkened with annoyance.

"Why on earth not, Weasley, it'll make you all better." He reasoned, unable to keep the sarcasm out of his voice at the last part.

Ginny rolled her eyes and pushed the drink back toward him, her fingers brushing over his as she did so. "Right. That makes it all okay now." Her sarcasm bit back. "Do you think I'm stupid Malfoy? Why would I accept anything as ominous as that from you?"

"There's nothing wrong with it." He returned, defensively.

"You could be trying to poison me." She explained, a little annoyed that he did not catch on.

"Well I'm not." His eyes narrowed. _But it's not a bad idea, _he thought darkly. Merlin she was annoying.

"Well I don't quite believe you." Draco sighed.

"Just drink it."

"No way."

"Do you want to be sick?"

"No but I'd rather take that chance." Draco scowled, then tore his eyes from hers and looked away.

"Fine, it's your life."

"That's right, now if you would just give it _back._" She glowered.

Draco stopped and glared.

"Do you want me to force you? Because I will, you know, and I am not going to have your death on my hands, just because you won't drink-." he stopped.

The moment the words were out of his mouth, true as they were, he froze, inwardly cursing himself

It must have shown on his face, because Ginny's eyebrows shot up and she stared. Well, at first she stared like nobody's business, but then she began to smirk.

"Okay." She began slowly, probing eyes never leaving his face.

"Okay what?" he asked sceptically. "You _do_ want me to force you?" _That doesn't make sense. _

"No," she rolled her eyes at him. "I'll _drink_ it." She reached for the glass he held in his hand.

He wouldn't budge, and his eyes were on her face, searching for the reason for her change of mind. "Why?"

Ginny almost cracked a smile at his indignance. Almost. Reverse psychology was funny. "I thought you wanted me to?"

His grip suddenly lessened its hold, and Ginny took the drink. She sniffed it, immediately regretting agreeing to this. "Gross."

"Get over it." He rolled his eyes. Ginny raised an eyebrow at him.

_One, two, three._ Ginny grimaced and gulped it down. It didn't taste nearly as bad as it smelled, and for that she was grateful.

She shoved the glass back at Draco, and wiped her mouth with her sleeve, finding Draco's furrowed brow and confused look amusing.

"What?" She asked, cringing at the aftertaste of the revolting potion. Strangely enough, Ginny already began to feel less feverish and nauseous. A rush of relief coursed through her as she realised two things.

Number one, that the potion was safe.

"Why did you drink it?" he demanded.

And number two:

"Because you don't want to kill me."

Ginny couldn't help but smile in response to Draco's frustrated look of loathing. He ran a hand through his silver blond hair, stood up and walked angrily out of the room.

Ginny was suddenly felt very sleepy. Maybe the drink had a sleeping potion in it too. She tugged an Afghan from the armrest of the couch and pulled it around her.

What would happen now that she knew Draco wouldn't kill her? Would she be able to talk to him without being scared of his actions? Would anything actually be different? Probably not.

And then it came to her, as she dozed off.

She could be civil with him, and maybe if she kept it up, and if she was lucky, she could trick him into telling. It was a long shot, but it was all she had.

When Ginny had next woken up, the sun was already shining through the window and the room was brightly lit.

Ginny felt better than she had in the past couple of days. The constant headache was gone, and she no longer felt ill, and her appetite had returned.

And Draco Malfoy admitted that he didn't want her death on his hands.

Ginny felt rather optimistic, and rather in control, which made her happy. Less angry and frightened might be the better phrase.

After showering and changing her clothes, Ginny made her way happily down the stairs. She almost bounced into the kitchen where Draco sat eating a bowl of cereal. He looked up with a look of death on his face.

Ginny paused. He was obviously not a morning person.

"Good Morning!" she sang as she went to cupboards and pulled out a skillet.

She placed it on the stove and went to the fridge. She paused in her step as she glanced at Malfoy. He held a spoon over the bowl and he stared at her with a wary expression on his face. He was frozen in place. Ginny looked away, and took a couple of eggs out of the fridge, her actions much less enthusiastic, bogged down by his lovely morning attitude. She glanced back at Draco. He had relaxed some, and his arms were now crossed, watching her carefully.

She began to cook, and the sound of the eggs frying in the pan filled the room. She looked back at Draco again to see that he now stared at the table in front of him, as though in thought.

For some reason, she didn't know why, the silence was killing her. The first words she could think of were:

"Would you like some eggs Malfoy?" she asked, immediately regretting it. This whole talking to him thing was turning out to be harder than she'd imagined.

His eyes caught hers again, and she was surprised to see that he was not glaring, just… looking. He held her gaze.

"No, thank you." His innocent words were marred by his icy tone.

Well, at least he was polite. The corner of her lip twitched up and Ginny tore her eyes away from him and finished what she was doing. She put the eggs on a plate with some toast and brought it over to the table, putting it down and sitting down adjacent to him.

Draco was still watching her, his cereal forgotten. Ginny picked up a piece of toast, gave him a smile and began to eat.

"Are you sure you don't want any? It must be better than…that." She looked pointedly down at his bowl. Draco followed her gaze and shrugged, looking coolly back at her.

"I guess that depends how bad your cooking is." He smirked.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "It's eggs and toast, Malfoy. How anyone could get that wrong is beyond me."

"I'm sure you could find a way."

He wasn't serious, she could tell. Inside, Ginny rejoiced. Finally a conversation that wasn't filled with malice, no matter how pathetic.

"What are you doing, Weasley?" he asked suddenly. It was totally out of the blue, but Ginny knew what he meant. He was confused as to why she was talking to him. For all he knew, she should be avoiding him like the plague.

"I'm being civil, Malfoy." She answered truthfully.

"Why?"

Ginny sighed. Figures he needed a reason for someone to have a normal conversation with him.

"Well," she began, slowly, "I've decided that since I'm apparently going to be here _indefinitely_," she couldn't stop the sarcasm. "I don't really want to be avoiding you all the time. That would take way too much effort."

And the rest of the truth she would not tell him. Ginny had realised that he did not want to kill her, but she also knew that he was still a Death Eater. He was still using her for some evil purpose of his. But at least it was a purpose of _his_. Not some Death Eaters. At least, that's what she hoped. Harry's words still rang through her head: _he wouldn't have killed Dumbledore_.

There were a couple of things that she was now sure about.

And she would give him the benefit of the doubt.

"And you think that talking to me is going to get me to reveal something, is that it?" he drawled, his raised eyebrow was suddenly mocking, all-knowing.

Ginny's eyes snapped to his face again. _How had he guessed?_ Irritation took over as Malfoy smirked when he realised that he'd guessed right, and Ginny realised that he _wasn't_ stupid. He was a slytherin, and he did have half a brain, unfortunately. She should have known.

Ginny relented, since she knew her reaction had given away the truth and there was no way to cover it.

"Well…okay, there's that too." She admitted, running her hand through her read hair. "But, I mean, you're never going to tell me anything on your own, right?" she looked to him for confirmation.

Draco nodded, leaning back in his chair.

"Then how am I supposed to figure anything out?" Ginny sighed, frustrated, looking at her empty plate.

Draco considered her for a moment. With sudden realisation, he said, more to himself than to her, "And you're not going to stop trying, are you?"

"Nope." She said, cheering up as she realised he was catching on. "If you know _anything_ about Weasleys, you should know that we don't give up."

"I can imagine." He said, frowning. In fact, he hadn't considered that. Maybe that explained why her actions always puzzled him.

"But you're also not very cunning." he added, and Ginny felt the heat rise in her face.

"Well, okay, maybe I'm not the best at manipulating people, _Malfoy_, but I do have another idea."

"And what's that, Weasley?" his eyes watched her with amusement.

"What if…" she stopped, wondering if she should say this or not.

"Go on, Weasley."

"What if I guess things? What if I guess what you're doing? Will you tell me if I'm right?" brown eyes wide with hope.

Draco considered everything. _She already thinks that I won't kill her now. Unfortunately I don't have the control that I wanted over her. Would it really be consequential if she knew some things? Nothing would ever be in her power. That was true. He didn't think there was really any way that she could guess the actual truth_.

But it might be more fun if he just let her guess.

"Why should I do that?"

Ginny frowned, realising that there wasn't really any reason why he would. _Good point._

"Humour me, then." She said dryly.

Draco grinned at that. Ginny wondered why he found this so amusing, but he said nothing.

"Well?" she asked.

"Alright." Draco

"What?" She raised her eyebrows in surprise. "Honestly, Malfoy, I wasn't expecting you to say yes."

"Well, I'm sure it'll suffice to amuse me Weasley. For now."

"Right. Figures." But she grinned, and stood up to clean her dishes. She went to the sink and washed her dishes. She would use this to her advantage. Maybe she'll guess the truth from his reactions. With one last glance back at Draco's face, seeing that he was lost in thought with a puzzled look, Ginny left the room.

The first thing he'd thought when he'd seen her that morning was whether or not he'd somehow messed up the potion because she sure as hell had no reason to be cheerful. But then he'd realised the truth. That she was trying to be normal with him and put him off his guard somehow. Obviously the little witch was not very smart. Did she really think I wouldn't see through her?

But now that Draco had agreed to this little game of hers, he couldn't help but think that he shouldn't have. He couldn't see that she would ever guess the truth. He had thought that maybe it would prove to entertain him for a while in this prison of a house; she wasn't the only one who couldn't leave. The enchantments on this place were impenetrable.

But after he'd thought about it some more, Draco wondered what would happened if she _did_ guess correctly, even through the chances of that happening were small.

She had just better not. Draco frowned, lost in thought.

It was with this look on his face, sitting in a chair with his legs propped up, and arms crossed, that Ginny found him later in the day. Little did she know he was inwardly cursing himself for the words he let slip the night before.

She entered the room, and Draco looked up with a bored and expectant look.

Ginny sat down on the same couch that she'd slept on the night before, revelling in the comfort of it. "Malfoy." She said in greeting.

"Weasley. What do you want?"

"Nothing." Her sideways glance at him and mild smirk told him otherwise. She curled up, bringing her knees up to her chest.

Draco stared in silence, annoyed with her presence.

"Alright then." Draco pondered getting up and leaving, but he realised that it didn't really bother him to be in the same room as her when she was not being annoying.

She looked over at him sideways, resting her head on her knees, her red hair flowing around her in waves.

"Why don't you use magic?" she asked him.

Draco frowned. So she didn't want nothing. He had the urge to roll his eyes, but her question stopped him.

"I thought the deal was that you guess, and I tell you how wrong you are." He muttered.

Ginny grinned. "It was worth a shot." But then she acquiesced. "Fine then. _I _think that you don't use magic because you don't want anything traced back to you."

"Still not a question, Weasley." Was his sharp response to her inquisitive look.

She sighed. "Okay, Malfoy. Is it because you don't want to be traced?"

Draco shrugged in response. She smiled, taking that as a yes.

"Okay, then that means that you must be hiding from somebody." If I am a hostage, then he must be hiding from whoever he's using me as a hostage for.

"And who would that be?" his eyes were suddenly void of all emotion, and his posture slightly defensive; Ginny noticed.

Ginny sighed and turned to face him completely. "Do you want to know what I think?" She really just wanted to get this off her chest.

"No."

"Well, you're going to hear it anyway. I do not think that you are working for the Death Eaters, even though I think you are one." She paused to look at his reaction. His eyes darkened and he stared at her, motionless. Ginny frowned. "I think that you are doing this on your own. And I also think that the only explanation is that I am a hostage."

Draco looked at her for a while, thinking that she was more perceptive than he'd previously thought. She looked at him expectantly. Apparently _this_ was what she really wanted to know. "Alright, Weasley. That part is true. You are a … hostage." He frowned at the word. He had decided that she would probably have to know sooner or later anyway, so what was the harm? The only result might be her misbehaviour, and that he could deal with. "Any idea as to why?" For some reason he found himself to be enjoying this question and answer thing, even if she was getting some of her answers.

Ginny looked away, frowning. "No, not really. I mean, it has to be for people that care about me, like my family or the o-" she stopped. She shouldn't be talking about the Order around him. "Or my friends. Or else, why would you choose _me?_ It can't be for money, because we're not rich like you."

"Obviously."

Ginny glared. "And you have more than enough already."

Draco smirked. It was true. Money was certainly not an issue.

"So you're either trying to lure someone to you, to kill them maybe, or you want to use them for something else."

Draco watched Ginny as she got lost in her own train of thought. He thought maybe she was finished.

"Is that all?" Draco said disinterestedly. Ginny looked up again, her eyes full of a mixture of things; questions, anger, uncertainty, hope. But hell if he could interpret them further than that.

"Why me?" she said again. "Of all people, why me? Is it only because of who I am friends with, or who my family is? Or is it something else?"

"Something else like what?" he asked, truly intrigued at her perceptiveness.

"I don't know." She responded quietly and let out a sigh. "Just _something_." Her brow creased, and Draco suddenly felt like he needed to say something.

"Weasley?" he said to get her attention. She looked up. "Just so you know, there were a number of factors that singled you out. I doubt you would be able to guess them all." And with that he smirked and watched coolly as Ginny huffed and crossed her arms.

"You are so frustrating, Malfoy." He smirked at her, purely enjoying the redhead's frustration.

After a moment they lapsed into silence.

"Remus, what can we do?"

"I don't know, Arthur. I don't know." Replied the thoughtful voice of the man beside him.

Arthur sighed and leaned back in his armchair. The whole affair with his one and only daughter gone missing felt like it had taken years off his life. When she'd been declared missing from Hogwarts by Minerva, he'd almost had a heart attack. It was enough that so much had already happened to his family, and that Ron had taken off and hadn't been heard from in months, but for his only daughter to go missing? After he'd heard the information, he'd kept a cool head, which surprised some of the order and certainly took a lot of effort on his part, and he'd organized a search party. This was all secretive so far, as it had to be, so it was kept within the Order. When the search had turned up nothing once again, Arthur, under the assumption that she had been kidnapped, had rallied up the Order members for ideas. They had all been off in various directions looking for clues up until last night when Arthur got the owl.

The note, that now resided folded up in his pocket, had been explicit and ruthless, but it was _who_ the letter was from that surprised and angered him more than anything.

It was from Draco Malfoy, and this was quite a mind-bending thought. That boy had almost killed Albus Dumbledore and quite soon afterward had disappeared with the man that actually did. And neither had been seen since.

Draco had been searched for endlessly by the Order at one point, and they had concluded that he was either dead, or in hiding, because they had found no trace of him. But for him to turn up now?

He didn't even know what to think. Arthur shook his head.

Molly was especially upset about it all.

Tonks made her way into the room carrying a tray of tea, which Arthur stood up to take from her, as it looked rather tipsy and it was a common occurrence for her to make an accident out of anything. Arthur set it down and they all took a cup. Tonks sank into the couch beside Remus, who promptly put his arm around her, in comfort. Arthur knew that Tonks really liked Ginny and that they got along well. She had been there to comfort Ginny after Harry, Ron and Hermione had left.

Tonks was as worried as the rest of them.

"Arthur?" said Tonks. "What do you think?"

He pulled out the letter from his pocket, Tonks and Remus hadn't seen it yet. "This is the letter." He passed it to them. "He's made it so that if I write on the back, the ink will disappear, and appear on his end somewhere. Smart method of communication, unfortunately. Oddly reminiscent of that diary, though. It makes me nervous." He sighed. "Do you think it's at all traceable?"

Remus studied it attentively for a minute. "No." he said. "I'm sorry Arthur. This is the same charm that we used as kids to keep in touch during detentions, only it was with mirrors."

"So there's no way to find him from this?" asked Tonks.

"No, I'm afraid not." Replied Arthur wearily.

"So what are you going to tell him?" asked Remus.

"I'm going to tell him that I have some terms that need to be satisfied before anything is done." Arthur took a sip of his tea.

"What specifically?" asked Tonks.

"I need proof that she's alright, that's what. And if the boy's smart, then he'll listen. That way, if he lets me see her, we'll have a better idea of how to resolve this. But, if I have to do what he wants, I will, but you know as well as I do that it sure as hell wont be easy. And I sure as hell don't want to."


	5. Chapter 5

Disclaimer: I don't own Harry Potter. There's one quote in here taken from the book that I did not write.

AN: Thanks to all my lovely reviewers! I've had this somewhat written for a couple weeks now, but I only got onto the editing today. I _should_ be doing homework (I have a lot of it this weekend), but I wanted to finish this soon so I worked on this instead. Haha… if I fail, it's getting blamed on this:P I can't wait to hear what you guys think. I wasn't quite sure about some things, but I hope you like it.

Keep the Faith

Chapter Five

_Brilliant._

_Spiffing._

_Just bloody fantastic._

Draco Malfoy stared in disbelief at the paper that he held in his hands. The words mocked him.

It had been a couple day's wait. But he'd just received the message. Arthur Weasley demanded to see the girl before he would do anything.

Draco gave a frustrated sigh and threw the pad of paper on his bed, and sat down in the armchair in the corner of his room.

Apparently the man was smarter than he'd imagined, Draco thought grudgingly. Oddly enough, being a slytherin, Draco was reluctantly impressed with the man's actions.

He should have seen this coming. How come he didn't?

Draco leaned back in his chair gripping his blonde hair with his hands.

This was a disaster. The whole bloody thing was a disaster, and not only because of this. Ever since he'd started planning everything, he'd been doubtful that his idea would even work, but it was the only idea that he had. He'd planned it to the very last detail, and everything was prepared. He'd waited weeks to put things into action, but now that he was here, he was even more… desperate for something to happen. The Dark Lord was unforgiving, and now that he'd started this, he couldn't go back. He put himself on this path, and for Merlin's sake he would finish it. He had no choice but to finish it. Otherwise, he _would_ be killed. It was already getting worse by the day. The Dark Lord knew he was up to something and was determined to find him. Draco knew it by the constant pain that resided in what was now the worst mistake of his life. _Not that I'd had much choice in getting it_, Draco thought miserably.

He rubbed his left forearm distractedly.

But now this… Ginny Weasley's antics had complicated this more than he'd ever predicted. He just knew that she would somehow ruin everything. He knew it. Draco rubbed his eyes and leaned back in the chair.

Well, actually he hadn't really known it. And _that's_ why he wanted to beat himself up from his stupidity… because it was his own fault. He wanted to blame her for trying to corrupt him, but the truth was … it was his own bloody fault for letting her.

He let his guard down around her. They both knew it, and _that_ was his problem.

Ginny had not asked any more questions about why she was here, but she'd settled for talking about her life, and trying to get him to talk to her about his. He mostly just sat there and tried to ignore her, but she seemed satisfied with that.

She told him stories about her brothers Fred and George when they were kids, and how they started inventing things when they were young, and how during the summers they would teach her things. She tried to ask him about his own life.

Draco wasn't an idiot. He knew she just wanted to unravel the mystery of him. He was perfectly aware that no one knew what had happened to him. She was in fact, the first person he'd come across in all those months that didn't know where he'd been. Most of his time since the night he'd run away with Severus had been spent with the Death Eaters. He'd been pretty much in isolation from his old life, and he'd never really had anyone inquire about him.

Of course, he'd refused to tell her anything that might have been of interest to her, but she'd also asked him inane, unimportant things like what kind of books did he read, or what was his favourite kind of food. To that, he'd only answered that they were dumb questions, and that she was stupid to think that he cared about food in times like these. He remembered that Ginny had answered that she was used to trying to make life easier for people by being optimistic and it's too depressing for her to just be down when you're helpless. After an awkward moment of silence, Draco had told her that his favourite food used to be his mother's lasagne, as it was one of the only things she could cook herself. The annoying girl had tried to make a joke out of it by accusing him of not being able to cook, which, Draco mused, was true in a way. The dangerous thing was that he'd realised afterward that she had taken his mind off of things he didn't want to think about, something he couldn't even do himself.

It hurt to even think of it, but he'd started to feel… _comfortable _around her.

And if she even had the slightest impression that he was relaxed around her, which she probably did, then he had a huge problem.

All of that will have to change, he thought darkly.

Her father wanted to _see_ her before he would do anything, and he knew that Arthur Weasley was the only one with the connections that were needed, so he had to oblige him. And that was a problem.

There were two issues at hand: the first being that he'd have to be very careful to keep the situation beyond Arthur Weasley's control, and the other being that Ginny Weasley had to cooperate.

It was important that Mr. Weasley believe that his daughter was in mortal danger or else he wouldn't take him seriously. And it was crucial for Draco to be taken seriously.

Draco picked up the pad of paper again and began to write.

He set a time and a place and told him to meet him at ten o'clock in the morning on the next Saturday.

That should do, Draco thought. It was Wednesday now, which gave him a couple of days to figure things out, and to make Ginny afraid of him.

(((KTF)))

Half and hour later, Draco walked downstairs.

Ginny was standing at the counter, peeling an orange. Her long red hair stood out against the dark outfit she wore, glinting in the sunlight from the window.

When she heard him enter, Ginny turned around and raised an eyebrow when she saw his scowl. He'd been relatively civil to her for the past few days, and Ginny dreaded that he would revert back to his old behaviour.

Draco walked to the fridge after casting her a dark look, and pulled out a drink.

Ginny stopped what she was doing and turned her brown eyes on him, looking cautiously at him for a moment before saying, "I'm about to make sandwiches, did you want one?"

"No." Ginny almost rolled her eyes at his sharp tone.

"Are you sure?" she asked, giving him acurious look.

"Of course I'm sure. I don't want food from a weasel like you." He said maliciously.

Ginny stared at the Draco. What was his problem now? Why was he being such a git?

"Alright then," she started, would-be nonchalantly, leaning back against the counter. "I know _ferrets_ can fend for themselves I was just offering." She smirked, looking across at him.

Draco glowered at the reference. He advanced toward her until Ginny was backed up further against the counter staring up at him, eyes wide with apprehension. The difference in their heights was apparent. He closed the gap between them, putting each hand on either side of her, he bent close and said icily, "It would do you well not to insult me, or I might just have to treat you like a real hostage." His silky words promised pain and suffering. He traced a finger down the side of her face, and Ginny jerked back, eyes wide.

"What are you doing?" she squeaked. Draco raised a cocky eyebrow and reached behind her, backing her further into the counter for a moment, and pulled away with an apple in hand from the fruit basket behind her.

His bitter voice was cold and he said, "I'd watch what you say from now on. I have no trouble issuing pain without a wand." Ginny looked up at him frozen in her spot from when he last touched her, still feeling strange from the proximity. Her brown eyes changed instantly from apprehended surprise to suspicion. Her stance changed to defensive and she crossed her arms.

"What is your problem?" Ginny accused, looking at him disgustedly.

Giving Ginny an arrogant smirk, he took a bite from the apple and walked out of the room. Ginny stared after him for a minute, open-mouthed, and then turned and sat down at the table and sighed. _The bastard. Why is he being so defensive again_? She thought she'd made such good progress with him since two days ago when she'd figured out she was indeed a hostage.

She hated the idea of being nice to him, but if he wasn't trying to be a git, it helped her keep her sanity.

Ginny frowned thoughtfully. He had seemed almost human when he wasn't fighting with her or trying to intimidate her. What had changed?

(((KTF)))

For the rest of the day, every time Ginny saw Draco, she would be ignored, glared at with no emotion, or bombarded with insults. She didn't know which was worse. When he ignored her, at least he wasn't harassing her, but she'd gotten to like talking with him, and it was kind of depressing when he ignored her. When he insulted her, at least he was talking, and she never took him seriously, and she just acted coolly, raised an eyebrow and said something sharp back, but when he just looked or glared at her calmly with his piercing grey eyes, he scared her. It was very unnerving. He had a look that did not seem entirely human.

The result was that he was quite unapproachable. If she came to sit in the library when he was in there, then he would angrily tell her to get out, and she would do it. With his eyes on her like that, she was glad to. But she felt oddly discarded. She didn't like to admit it, but she'd liked getting to know things about him, even if they were small and unimportant.

She wanted to unveil the dark barrier that surrounded Draco Malfoy; to understand what happened to the sneering boy he was at Hogwarts. Nobody knew, and since Ginny was still convinced that he was not a murderer, her interest was peaked. He seemed like less of a monster when he would talk to her. And considering that she was trapped in a house with only him for company, she would rather believe that he was a normal person that wasn't going to kill her or rape her or make her go mad.

It was weird, but Ginny felt sort of compelled by him. He was rude, insulting, unfriendly and horrible, but she was thoroughly and inexplicably drawn to him.

Every so often, Ginny tried to talk to him anyway. She would just say hello, or comment on the weather, sarcastically though as they were always inside. To these he would insult her, calling her a "dratted little rodent" or "an annoying weasel" or he'd insult her family, which left her angry and hurt. Every time he would say anything, Ginny had taken to closing her eyes and reminding herself that she could not kill him or she would be stuck in this house forever.

But then she'd tried a different approach.

Ginny entered the kitchen where he was sitting and sat down across from him.

"Sod off Weasley." He told her, uninterested.

"Look Malfoy, what is the matter with you?" she asked furiously. He just looked at her with a dark look that made her want to quail. The dark circles that surrounded his eyes gave him a somewhat scary look. So, fidgeting slightly, she continued.

"Alright, I don't know why you're going on like this, but it's getting really old." When he looked at her like she was the dirt beneath him, Ginny felt hysteria begin to rise within her, very uncharacteristically, and she breathed for a moment and pushed it down.

"You know, you were almost acting like a normal human being the other day. You can't possibly be like this all the time." Ginny knew she was grasping at threads here, but panic was all she felt. Why wasn't he saying anything? "Look, I know that you hate me and all, but why can't you just be civil? It would make this so much better for the both of us." She leaned forward anxiously.

"Weasley, it's better for you to think of me as inhuman, if that's the way you want to see it." He said distractedly, then looked at her and moved in his seat disinterestedly looking away again.

"What?" Ginny creased her brow, frowning. When he continued to act as though she hadn't spoken, she said, "Whatever Malfoy. I just mean... well... that you're acting... like a Death Eater." Ginny stared at him, frightened of his response. She hadn't really meant to say that; it just came out with her nerves. Ginny was kicking herself inside; she could normally keep a cool head in tough situations. She held her breath.

Draco chuckled humourlessly at her, then leaned forward himself and said wickedly,

"Maybe I am, Weasley. Did that ever occur to you?"

"Yes, actually, I already think that you are one." Ginny admitted cautiously.

"So what's the problem?" His smooth voice was falsely conversational, but she could hear the icy tone underlying it. She could see that this was dangerous ground. It wasn't something he would willingly talk about.

"You've always been a bastard, Malfoy, but I don't picture you acting like a death eater. You're just… acting strange." She said, in hopes to direct him back to her original point.

"Rest assured, Weasley, that the only one acting strange here is you. I don't know what in Merlin's name you think you're on about, but are you going to shut up or will I have to tape your mouth and bind your hands like a real hostage?" He raised a smooth eyebrow in a challenge.

Ginny honestly couldn't tell if he were being serious, and looked on, uncertain. The cold grey eyes stared her down, unrelenting, until Ginny finally gave up and left.

Only a couple of hours later, Ginny had made up her mind to talk to him again.

Ginny had taken to creeping around the house so as not to upset the bastard he was now, and glancing into rooms before she entered. Ginny found him in the library. It was night already, and the dark room was alight with the fire in the hearth.

She stood still as possible, too entranced to leave. He hadn't noticed her. His long, lean body was gracefully stretched on a chair, and he looked untouchable. It seemed to Ginny that it must be impossible for Draco Malfoy to look unkempt in any way, and she thought with a twinge of jealousy of her own lack of grace. But contrary to his relaxed posture, Draco was lost in thought looking very worried, and Ginny knew in that instant that something was on his mind. Did it have something to do with her? Maybe his plan, whatever it was, was going badly. She didn't know whether she should be worried of hopeful. Was it something good for her or something bad for him? Or was it a little bit of both? Ginny let her eyes linger on him for another minute before tearing them away and turning around. She leaned against the cool wall in the dark hallway, hidden from his view and sighed, and made up her mind about him.

She remembered back to the first time she saw him on the Hogwarts grounds. He had frightened her. Even after she'd realised it was him. His tall figure cloaked in black, his dark eyes and familiar blonde hair shadowed under the dark hood. She hadn't thought about him in months, and she hadn't really wasted any thought on him. But now, she saw him every day. What she could infer of his behaviour, she could see he was not just the cruel, selfish bastard that he came across as; there was another part of his personality that wasn't so vile. She felt a determined mind to figure him out; to find the reasons behind his harsh, arrogant actions. She saw it in him when he had cured her sickness, forced her to eat rather than starve, and had a normal conversation with her. Just that one alone should say something.

When she saw him like this, she had trouble believing that he was naturally cold, cruel and heartless.

Ginny glanced back into the room. She didn't feel right disturbing him like that. Ginny sighed and walked quietly into her room and lay down on her bed. She had to get him to talk to her again.

(((KTF)))

The next afternoon Ginny had just emerged from her room, and Draco had emerged from his door, directly across the hall. They looked at each other. Draco watched her with narrowed eyes, and Ginny pursed her lips and looked up at him warily, leaning lightly against her door frame.

"What are you staring at, you wretched little weasel?" A sneer marred his features.

"An annoying ferret is what." She snapped back before she could stop herself. No matter what she told herself about him, she couldn't always hold back. It had been a while since she'd retaliated, and it felt good.

The sneer dropped from his face, and he looked angry. "Is that right?" He looked positively dangerous. _I cannot kill him or I will be stuck in this godforsaken house forever, _she told herself.

Ginny looked determinedly up at Draco.

"I don't even believe you're really as bad as you're trying to be." She said calmly. The words were out of the blue, and it took Draco a minute to comprehend them. His face closed down.

Draco stepped forward, glaring down at her. "Weasley," he said. She didn't want to admit it, but his brutal tone scared her as much as anything. "This is getting tiring. Let me make it clear. You don't know anything about me, no matter how much you think you do."

Ginny frowned, but she didn't say anything. Maybe she didn't.

Draco advanced further; his walk was predatory like a wild cat on the hunt, until she found herself backed up against the wall.

Ginny felt oddly reminiscent of her first night here and cringed at the memory. Draco smirked. "That's right Weasley." His irritated tone was superior and offending, and it made Ginny want to hurt him, but she controlled herself easily. "I'm not nearly as nice as you seem to think I am." He was still inching closer to her, and the look on his face was neither nice nor reasonable. It was frustration and anger laced with desperation that had an overall effect of something like madness. It sent chills down her spine, but she fought to keep her resolve.

"I'm not scared of you." She asserted, staring determinedly right into his eyes. And before she knew it, he had her pinned against the wall. His hands held her there, and he was closed in on her, just inches away.

"You should be." He hissed menacingly, his furious and frustrated eyes on hers. Ginny looked back at him in defiance, her hair tumbling around her face, shadowing her own eyes.

"Get the hell off of me." She struggled against him, hitting and pushing him, and managed to hurt him slightly, as she saw by his wince, but he was too strong; he didn't move an inch. Getting sick of her pushing, Draco shoved her back, forcing his body against her, pushing her against the wall.

His strong body held her down, suppressing her antics.

Ginny continued to struggle, but gave up soon enough, settling for giving him the strongest glare she could muster.

Brown eyes stared into silver.

"Don't think," he started, angrily, "just because you somehow believe I won't kill you, that I'm not dangerous."

As Ginny glared up at him from under dark eyelashes, she could feel his breath on her face. She could feel his strong body against hers. She could see the smooth pale skin on his face, just inches from hers. She couldn't take her eyes away from the silver gray of his piercing eyes; his insistent look.

Ginny felt her pulse speed up, and she didn't think it was because of the fear.

They looked at each other for a long moment, and Draco suddenly stepped back and looked away, a look of frustrated irritation crossing his features. He ran a hand through his hair and glanced back at her with a dark look of that she couldn't explain, and walked back into his room, shutting the door behind him. The slam of the door reverberated in her ears; all of her senses were alert.

Ginny stared after him, feeling the blood rush back into her limbs and the sense rush back to her brain.

Ginny pushed herself off the wall and walked back into her own room, forgetting her previous plan, and shut the door. She sat down cross-legged on her bed.

_What am I doing?_

Ginny felt disgusted at herself. Why hadn't she responded to his threat? She'd just stood there, placid as ever. Ginny hit her forehead with her palm and fell back, lying down.

Why had she felt _disappointment_ when he'd left? Why had she not been disgusted by the feel of him? Why had her body craved the warmth from his, and why had she bloody felt like she'd stepped out of a safety net? Ginny wanted to scream at herself. _That_ was utterly ridiculous. He wanted to hurt her, not protect her. He wasn't the hero, he was the villain.

Wasn't he?

There he was, threatening her, trying to intimidate her, and all she could think about was the feel of him, and the smell of him, and-

"Merlin, I've gone mental." she said to no one.

_What I need right now,_ she thought, _is to talk to Luna. If anyone would understand this, it would be her._

And not for the first time, Ginny wondered what they were all doing in this moment. Were they worried about her? How were Luna and Neville? Ginny wondered if anyone had any inkling of what happened to her. Was the Order on Draco's trail yet? She knew how unlikely it was.

Ginny distracted herself by thinking of them, and managed to take her mind of the annoying prat across the hall.

(((KTF)))

Draco paced around his room. Her reaction, that look in her eyes… she wasn't the least bit afraid of him.

When he'd seen her step out of that room, her casualness had distracted him for a moment and he'd stopped in his tracks to stare at her confidant figure and her calm expression. Why wasn't she afraid of him yet?

It was so unfair. He'd tried so hard for the past day and a half to make things incredibly difficult for her, but she was un-phased. He had let out the first thing that came to his mind, and then he'd cornered her. It had been an impulse. He felt her soft body under his, and saw her wide brown eyes stare up at him as though he had merely stated the weather. He'd realised in that moment that there was nothing he could do. It just wasn't going to work. The girl was not scared of him, nor was she worried that he would do anything.

He remembered something Pansy had once said. "_A lot of boys like her, even you think she's good-looking, don't you, Blaise, and we all know how hard you are to please!" _Draco frowned. Where had that come from? He certainly did not find her attractive.

Or maybe he did. That made it all worse.

Draco closed his eyes. What was he doing? He shouldn't admire her resolve, but he did. He shouldn't have liked touching the blood-traitor, but he did. _It must be this house that's making me go mad_, Draco thought frantically. _There is no other explanation. I've been alone for too long. That's all this is._

He went into the bathroom and gripped the edges of the sink, staring at himself in the mirror.

What he saw was not welcoming. The blond man in the mirror looked exhausted, thin and pale. Draco knew he hadn't slept much lately, and it looked like it was getting to him.

His grey eyes stared back at him, hardening. He needed to find another way to deal with the girl.

Maybe he could bind her up, and not let her speak, when he brought her to her father. It didn't appeal to him, none of this did, but it might work. Or it might backfire.

Draco tore his eyes away from the mirror and went back into his bedroom to sit down.

What could he even do?

(((KTF)))

Ginny spent the rest of the day avoiding him. She snuck down to the kitchens when she could hear him in his room, and tiptoed through the halls so as not to draw attention to herself.

She couldn't stop thinking about him. He was a horrible person, that couldn't be any truer, but Ginny couldn't seem to think of him as evil.

She was stuck alone with her thoughts. That was the problem. That must be why she was thinking like this. Ginny hated Malfoy on principle, she really did, but she also couldn't help but try to convince herself that there must be some sort of excuse for his behaviour.

She knew she was being stupid. He currently held her hostage, and she didn't even know for what. Why should she feel anything but hatred and disgust for him? She shouldn't, but she did, and that was troublesome.

Ginny went to bed early, and dreamt that same dream that she'd had on her first day here. She was running frantically away from her pursuers in unfamiliar stone hallways to a man whose face she could not remember in the morning. Only this time, the dream ended when she was just within his reach. Ginny awoke the next morning feeling restless and exhausted, as though she hadn't slept at all.

Ginny decided that she would just go ahead and act normally. If she came across him, then she would deal with it then. For now, she was sick of the confinement.

Later in the afternoon, Ginny was sitting down in front of the muggle television in the house. She was located comfortably on the couch in front of it with the remote in her hand flipping through channels. It had taken Ginny a few tries to figure out how to work the thing, but she did it. It was mostly a bunch of muggles in the television talking to one another and Ginny settled for watching the news.

She was amazed at how much of wizarding news was hidden within the muggle news. There had been some accidents that she knew must be Death Eater attacks. But that was all she could really figure out from it. Muggles really were oblivious. Looking out the window, Ginny saw the sky was darkening already, and Ginny's stomach growled. Sighing, Ginny pressed a button on the remote titled _power_ which she had figured out turned it on and guessed that it might also turn it off, which it did. About to get up, she heard a muffled noise.

Ginny looked in the direction of the stairs. It seemed to be coming from upstairs. Draco's room, she would guess.

After a moment of silence, she heard it again, and sat up straight. She couldn't tell very well what it was, but it sounded like something crashing. Ginny frowned. What was going on? She stood up and as she did, she could hear a series of bangs.

Ginny made her way up the stairs to Draco's room, where she knew the sound was coming from, and stopped because, to her surprise, Draco's door was open. She looked in cautiously.

Inside, Draco was leaning against the wall, holding his arm in pain. His hair was a mess and his face was a mask of pain. Ginny gasped in surprise, and he looked at her. His eyes were watery and red, and it even took a moment for the emotions in them to go from agony and vulnerability to a barrier of anger. Ginny gave an unconscious step forward. And he backed away from her, even though they must have been at least ten paces apart.

"Get away Weasley." He said calmly despite his demeanour, clutching his arm tighter, and closing his eyes in obvious pain. His face turned white.

Ginny bit on her nail. Something was terribly wrong. Had he hurt himself? Ginny worried.

Not wanting to leave him, Ginny remained rooted to her position in the doorway.

"What's the matter with you?" She blurted out. The tone of her voice was uncaring a distant to her ears, but she hadn't meant it to sound like that.

Draco tried to glare at her. "None of your bloody business, Weasley. Leave. Now." He ordered through grit teeth.

Ginny's heart was pounding. He was obviously in a lot of pain. She should just leave. He didn't want her there. But…she found herself oddly reluctant to leave him in such a state.

He closed his eyes and took in a sharp breath. Ginny stepped forward into the room. Several feet from Draco, Ginny stopped, uncertain.

He gripped his arm tighter, and shied away from her, when he saw that she'd approached him. "Weasley… get out." He forced out. "…now." He gave her a look of ultimate desperation.

Ginny panicked. _Oh no. He's not ok, he's not ok, he's not ok._ She didn't know what to do.

Draco let out a gasp of pain. He suddenly let out an angry yell, and Ginny stared wide-eyed as he kicked a table, sending it down with a bang. He let out a frustrated sob and leaned back against the wall, sinking down to the floor. He bent his head; the fingers of his good hand gripping his white-blond hair.

Ginny hesitated, and then moved forward. She couldn't leave him like this! She told herself once again that if something happened to him, then she would be trapped here forever.

Ginny bent down and touched her hand to his shoulder gently; he shook her off like he'd been stung. "What are you doing?" he grit through clenched teeth, trying, but failing to glare at her. Ginny's heart broke. What on earth could render him so helpless? Ginny stood up and touched the ends of her hair distractedly.

"What the hell did you do to yourself?" Ginny's voice broke.

"It's none of your business, Weasley. Get the fuck out." His breath was quick, and his voice raspy. His eyes were red and watery.

Ginny's face hardened. She bent down on her knees to his left. "I'll help you if you tell me what it is, Malfoy." She said, trying to be calm. She laid a hand on his shoulder again, expecting him to shake her off again, but he didn't. He cradled his left arm against his body, not even looking at her.

Ginny moved her hand carefully down the arm that was the source of so much pain. She stopped on his forearm, covered by his sleeve. She made to pull it up, but he caught her hand in a painful grip, looking up into her eyes suddenly. She understood from his look that he meant "don't you fucking dare".

"I can't help you if you don't let me see what's bothering you." She told him softly.

Draco shook his head. "You won't be able to help me regardless, Weasley." He said between ragged breaths.

Suddenly he gritted his teeth and sucked in a sharp breath with a new flare of pain. His grip on her hand tightened painfully and Ginny let out a gasp. "Draco…" she put her free hand on top of his. He looked down and let go of her suddenly. Ginny pulled her hand back to message it.

His silver eyes looked back up at her. "Do you really want to help?" he asked. Ginny nodded with fervour.

Draco hesitated, looking conflicted for a moment, and then continued.

"Go into my bathroom. Pull away the curtain and there's a cabinet. Find the vial in there that's red. Mix ten millimetres of it with a cup of water from the tap." He looked at her. Ginny noticed the sweat on his face as he ran a hand through his hair. "Think you can get that Weasel? Or do I have to do it myself?" Ginny raised an eyebrow. At least he wasn't so impaired that he'd lost his ability to be a prat, she thought.

"Yeah, I think I can get that, Malfoy." She replied sarcastically, and stood up and left him to go into the bathroom. She did what he said and found the hidden cabinet. She pulled it open and bit her lip. There were quite a few of vials lined up; all with various colours. She wondered what they all were. Her eyes found the red one and pulled it out. She had to guess the measurements of course, but she'd always been very good in potions. She mixed it in with some water and watched as it turned blue. Ginny smelled it, making a face at the vile scent. She was curious; she'd never seen this one before. But that wasn't important. Ginny left the bathroom and found Draco.

He was leaning against the wall weakly, breathing shallowly, sitting in the same spot she had left him. He looked up at her from half-lidded eyes. Ginny leaned down beside him quickly and put a hand to his forehead, her instincts taking over. "God Malfoy, you're burning up!" she exclaimed. Draco brushed her hand off of him distractedly and took the cup from her.

Suddenly he sat up straighter, pulled his sleeve up with his teeth and poured the liquid over his forearm. Ginny watched in horror as the blue liquid caused his arm to smoke. After it all cleared away, Draco leaned back, closing his eyes and started to breathe deeply.

Ginny could not tear her eyes away from his arm. The dark mark was burned on his skin, almost black. She watched as it proceeded to fade to a lesser gray colour. She had known that he had it, but it was different to see it in person. _Why is the dark mark causing him so much pain? _Before she could stop herself, Ginny reached out to touch it, and would have, had Draco not caught her wrist just in time. Ginny was surprised to see his eyes were still closed. He opened them slightly.

"Don't touch it." He ordered. Ginny pulled her hand back like she'd been burned.

"Sorry!" she apologized quickly.

For the first time all night Draco really looked at her. He looked at her with something like concern, and he said quietly, "Are you okay?" He didn't know what possessed him to say it, but the look on her face struck him. It was a mixture of horror and disbelief.

Ginny shook her head. "Yes." She was at a loss for words. "I… I just…"

Draco suddenly guessed, and he frowned worriedly. "I thought that you knew I had it."

"I did! I've just… I've never seen it before." She admitted weakly.

Draco made a noise and looked down at the mark. "It is rather revolting, isn't it?" he said dryly, and looked away.

Ginny looked down at her hands awkwardly. "What does it mean?" she asked. "Why is it hurting you? I mean, is that _normal_?"

Draco looked back at her, resigned. "Not exactly."

Ginny frowned. "What do you mean? Why would Voldemort –" Draco didn't flinch, but he shut his eyes at the name, which Ginny thought curious. She stopped, finally clueing in. Her jaw dropped, and she continued in a hushed voice. "Do you mean to say that you're hiding from Voldemort?" Draco glared up at her.

"Of course I am, Weasley. You really thought all these precautions were just for you?" his voice was suddenly unforgiving again. "I'd appreciate if you got out of my room, Weasley. I'm fine now."

Ginny closed her mouth and nodded distractedly, and got to her feet. With one last look at him, Ginny turned around and fled the room.

Draco waited until the door to her room had closed, then he struggled to his feet. He went into the bathroom and shut the door. Draco took one look at his reflection and grimaced. He looked a mess. Draco peeled off his shirt which was sticking to him from the sweat and threw it down on the floor. He reached in and turned on the shower. With the sound of the water running, Draco leaned back against the wall, closing his eyes. He was exhausted and shaken. The only pain he'd ever felt that was worse than this was the cruciatus. Ever since he had started to hide, the fire in his arm had increased to a constant dull ache, which he knew to mean that the Dark Lord was summoning him, but this episode had to mean something bad. Draco guessed that the Dark Lord was angry that he couldn't find him, and had probably figured out by now that Draco had deserted him. Whatever the case, the pain was to convince Draco to apparate to him immediately, which was mostly why he'd put up anti-apparition barriers around the house: to stop _himself_ from giving in to the pain and giving up.

And now the girl knew. He'd have to think about that further, but right now, Draco was too exhausted to think. He stripped himself of the rest of his clothes and stepped into the shower.

When he had rinsed himself of the sweat and blue residue of the potion, Draco lay down on his bed.

A couple of hours later it was around seven in the evening. Draco hadn't been able to sleep at all, but he'd made up his mind. It was the only thing he could think of, and he was still hesitant to do it, but he figured he would try it anyway.

Draco got up and walked across the hall. Pausing for a moment, he knocked on Ginny Weasley's door. The door opened after a couple of seconds, and Ginny's small figure appeared, looking up at Draco, her eyebrows raised. "What's going on?" she asked, confused. It was the first time he'd initiated contact.

Draco motioned for her to follow him, and Ginny walked out of her room, closing the door behind her before taking off after him. They didn't have to go very far. Draco entered the library and Ginny followed suit. He sat down at the table. Ginny stood by awkwardly. She didn't know how to act with him after this afternoon.

"Weasley. Sit down. We need to talk." Ginny bitterly noticed Draco's perfect appearance. Even after this afternoon, his back was straight, his hair was perfect. He was dressed impeccably, considering.

Ginny walked over to the table and sat down cross legged on the chair across from his. She put her hands in her lap and looked up at Draco warily. He had been thoroughly unpredictable, and she wondered what he wanted.

"What is it then?" she asked awkwardly, watching the boy across from her. She didn't know what to think anymore. All of her ideas about why she was here were suddenly thrust aside for new ones. The fact that Draco Malfoy was actually hiding from Voldemort made her mind boggle. Really though, she should have seen it coming, but with the way he'd acted, it hadn't really occurred to her. It still didn't really make sense in her mind.

Draco looked like he was having an inner battle with himself. Eventually he looked up at her with resolved silver eyes and said,

"I'm going to tell you everything."


	6. Chapter 6

A/N: Wow thanks for all the reviews guys! I'm sorry for the cliff-hanger last chapter, I couldn't resist! Read on and hopefully you'll like the continuation. This chapter is rather shorter than some, but I felt like it should stop where it does or else it would end up being too long, and also the fact that I would have to post it a lot later, and from the response I got, I'm going to assume that you'd all rather it sooner. :P I hope you like this chapter! Tell me what you think please! And by the way, Happy Easter or Passover to those that celebrate!

Keep the Faith

Chapter Six

"_I'm going to tell you everything." _

Ginny gaped at Draco, stunned. She could feel silence ringing in her ears; she was consciously aware of the thud of her beating heart. She felt surreal; unable to believe it.

But… then again, she could never guess with him.

Draco was leaning back with his arms crossed over his chest, an uncharacteristic look of doubt on his face as he scrutinized her, trying to interpret her reaction.

Draco raised an eyebrow the slightest bit, which caused Ginny, who had been staring at his face for the past two minutes without a word, to suddenly realise how ridiculous she must look.

She snapped herself out of it, and to avoid the risk of going into the same stupor, she told herself to say something. _Anything._

"_Everything_?" Ginny asked.

Draco could see the question in her eyes that had nothing to do with what she'd asked. He rolled his eyes. "Pay attention, will you?" he advised, slightly irritated, "I'm only going to say all this once."

Ginny suddenly felt very awake, and suspicious. Her mind was brimming with questions. "But why? I mean, why change your mind all of the sudden? I thought you were quite adamant at keeping it from me."

Draco felt his irritation with her already begin to show itself, and let out a long breath. If she was already getting on his nerves, how would he finish telling her what he needed to tell her?

"You'll find out when I tell you." He decided to tell her.

Draco watched her carefully. Her inquisitive gaze and her expression of keen interest was foreign to him. It had been a while since he'd had so much attention from anyone, and it felt…strange. Ginny's hair was a mane of red, shadowed in the light of the room, creating contrast that made her lightly freckled skin glow and her dark eyes bright, and Draco found it distracting. Her small figure was accentuated by the sweater she wore. Draco forced it out of his mind, reminding himself that she was his captive and nothing more.

"You know I'm a Death Eater." Draco said, regarding her openly. "I never had the choice, you know."

Ginny surprised him by nodding her head, and waiting for him to continue. Frustrated at not being able to read her, Draco continued.

"Potter put my father in Azkaban a year and a half ago. The Dark Lord blamed him for not getting that wretched prophesy that he had been so obsessed about." Draco's expression darkened noticeably. Ginny looked at him warily.

She certainly recalled the night in the department of mysteries; one of the worst nights of her life, in many ways. Narrowing her eyes, she remembered Lucius Malfoy. _The cruel, selfish, sore excuse for a man._ Ginny glowered at the table in front of her."I remember that night, you know." She said harshly, crossing her arms and leaning back. She remembered how Bellatrix Lestrange, Draco's own aunt, had murdered Sirius. Draco's eyebrows shot up at her vehemence, and he studied her for a moment.

_That's right, she was there._ Draco looked at Ginny in a new light. _She knows more than she's letting on_, he frowned.

Ginny looked away from him. Draco watched her a moment before continuing.

"The Dark Lord was angry at father that he'd managed to get caught _and_ mess up the plan, so he gave me an impossible task, threatening to kill me and my mother if I failed." Draco explained to her frigidly. "That was his punishment for my father."

Ginny saw the worried look hidden in his grey eyes, the awkwardness in his posture, and frowned.

"To kill Professor Dumbledore." Ginny stated, surprised at the revelation. She hadn't realised _his_ predicament. She'd thought that he was just trying to prove himself as a Death Eater.

Draco nodded. "Yes, Weasley, I was supposed to kill Dumbledore." Draco explained. "And it was such a ridiculous task that I was doomed for failure from the start. The Dark Lord expected me to fail, and I knew it but I had no choice. It was do it or die." Ginny noticed how his brow creased in a frown.

"But you didn't." Ginny said quietly, her gaze softening noticeably.

"Why do you say that?" Draco froze up, his eyes narrowing and his mouth turning into a scowl. "Why would you know that?" he accused.

Ginny's look of surprise frustrated him also. "I just do, Draco. Everyone does." Ginny tried to explain.

"But…it was only me and Dumbledore up there, until the other Death Eaters came along. So why are you so sure of yourself?" Ginny suddenly realised it. Draco hadn't been in her position since that night. He didn't know that everyone knew that Snape had killed Dumbledore. But why not? Where had he been all of this time? She suddenly felt her heart tug.

"Look, Malfoy…" Ginny leaned forward slightly on her elbows. "You weren't the only one up in that tower."

Draco's expression turned confused. He frowned but stayed quiet, observing her, analyzing her, his eyes searching out hers.

"Harry was there." she told him. "With Dumbledore… he was immobilized under his invisibility cloak."

Draco suddenly looked shocked, and furious. "_Potter_ was there?" he asked incredulously. "That's impossible."

Ginny shook her head. "No it isn't. Harry was there, and I know you don't really believe it, but he heard and saw everything."

"…everything." He repeated. Draco thought back to his moments on that tower, and felt humiliation and anger. He remembered vaguely the two brooms, and felt himself getting angry. He remembered now that he'd been suspicious at the time, but too scared and determined to care. Those moments had been some of the worst in his life, and it was upsetting to know that Potter had witnessed it. He'd had a hollow determination to kill the old man; to put his life back into order, to save his mother and himself from torturous death, and he'd failed. He hadn't been able to do it. The old man had seen right through him, had offered him a way out. And admittedly, it had sounded much more reassuring than any plan he'd been able to think of at the time. He would have probably considered the offer of protection had the Death Eaters he'd brought into the castle not interrupted, and if Severus Snape hadn't shown up to do the job for him. For many months after that night, he'd felt nothing but utter resentment for the man.

That night on the tower had changed his life dramatically. He'd been thrust into the life of a Death Eater, bullied and bullying others just to survive. Because he was seen to have technically failed his quest, Voldemort and the Death Eaters showed him no mercy, and he was punished drastically for it. But since the task was completed anyway, due to Draco's plan, the Dark Lord hadn't made full his threat to kill them. Draco often wondered if it would have been better just to die, rather than live this meaningless existence of hollow pain and servitude, but he knew he would never have left his mother alone in the world if he could help it.

Ginny watched as Draco sank further and further into his thoughts, looking troubled.

When he came back to the present, Draco started to speak as though she hadn't said anything, but he sounded much more exhausted.

"Like I said, the Dark Lord was going to murder both my mother and I if I were to fail, but as you presumably know, Snape came along and murdered Dumbledore himself. According to Snape, he'd made an unbreakable vow with my mother," Draco scoffed. "but I find it hard to believe he would do something so stupid." Draco noticed the flash of unforgiving hatred in her eyes and the dark look that crossed her delicate features.

"Murderous traitor." She scowled. Draco was mildly bemused at the amount of hatred in her words, but he continued as though she hadn't spoken.

"I ran away with him and the other Death Eaters that night. I still wasn't sure if I was going to die or not. The Dark Lord knew what had happened immediately, and he wasn't happy with me; however, he _was _ pleased that Dumbledore was dead, and was so thanks to my plan, so he let me live. That night I became a full-fledged Death Eater. They punished me excessively during those first months afterwards." Draco stopped, not wanting to continue, not wanting to tell her this. He'd never spoken any of this aloud before. He stared back at Ginny's wide eyes, and he knew she was taking in every word he said. Everything about her, her expression, her posture, her sincerity, was making things too easy for him to open up to her. He still felt the caution that he knew was bred by all slytherins; to not trust anyone. But he didn't think Ginny Weasley would use this against him, or at least he hoped. She was too much of a Gryffindor.

"You have to understand," he leaned forward for the first time, searching her dark eyes, trying to make her see the truth. "I was up on that tower to kill Dumbledore, and I was fully prepared to. But once I was there, I couldn't do it. And I knew that I could never do it. He had been really weak. I'd never seen him like that. There was one of the most able wizards for centuries, and he was almost falling over, having trouble with coherent speech, can you imagine that? I had him at my complete mercy, and I couldn't even do it. I wanted to, out of necessity, of course, but I didn't." Draco paused, anger crossing his features again. "I can't believe that Potter saw the whole bloody thing." He scoffed, disgusted.

"Malfoy," Ginny started. "Are you actually implying that not killing Dumbledore is a weakness? Is that what you're telling me?" She said heatedly.

Draco snorted. "Maybe your lot would think that it isn't, Weasley, but most Death Eaters certainly won't."

Ginny pursed her lips disapprovingly and crossed her arms. "Only a slytherin would think that." She muttered, causing Draco to raise an eyebrow at her assertion. She focused her attention on him again. "Tell me why in Merlin's name do you think Harry witnessing you is a bad thing? If not for him, then we probably would all think you were guilty."

Draco studied the girl across from him. He wanted to understand what went on in her brown eyes, why she was not talking more, and what she already knew. It was killing him that he couldn't read her. Draco ran a hand through his smooth blond hair, mussing it up slightly, yet not enough to look unkempt.

"You don't seem to understand the magnitude of the enmity between Potter and me, do you?" he started coldly, shutting his emotions down again. "You have no bloody idea what it's like to have one of your enemies witness something like that." Ginny gave him a sad look, and wondered what Draco had been like on that tower. She had trouble imagining it. Ginny wondered if Harry felt just as strongly as he did. She doubted it. In fact, she doubted that Draco even felt that strongly anymore. She knew they both had bigger things to occupy their minds rather than an old feud.

"Look, Malfoy. I don't know if it's a Slytherin thing, or just you, but having mercy on someone, sparing their life, is certainly not a weakness. And anyway, we wouldn't have known that Snape killed Dumbledore. No one would have really suspected that a man Dumbledore had trusted over the years without reason had murdered him. He was supposed to be on our side."

Draco gave a harsh laugh and leaned forward on his arms. "Your side? He was a double agent the whole time you know. All along he was helping the Death Eaters. He was just playing everybody." Ginny looked troubled.

"Well maybe so Malfoy, but the point is that you didn't kill Dumbledore, he did." Draco looked at her from across the table. Why did this girl seem to think the best of him? He certainly didn't deserve it, and she shouldn't be foolish enough to think it.

"I as good as killed him, Weasley. Don't you get that?" he asked her furiously, feeling the need to make her understand that he wasn't a good person, even if it was counterproductive. "I planned and executed the whole thing up until I got to the tower. I had been working for more than half a year fixing that bloody cabinet. I did absolutely everything to ensure that I get him cornered up there. I am anything but innocent in this, Weasley. Why don't you understand that?" Draco stood from his seat, frustrated.

Ginny looked up at him, and said quietly, "I _do_ understand that, Malfoy, but to me, it isn't only what you do that determines your accountability, it's the motivation behind it. If the only reason you did it was because the other option was to murder your family, then it's understandable. If your way of thinking was true, then you would have blamed yourself if your mother was murdered, you would have said that it was your fault she was dead, had you failed to kill Dumbledore, and it would make more sense for you to protect your family than to protect a man you unequivocally disliked."

Draco stared at her like she was speaking in a foreign tongue. Did she really think that? She sounded sincere. He frowned.

"You have one skewed sense of logic, Weasley. But it's good that you bring it up. We can actually get onto the point of me telling you this."

"And what's that?" Ginny stood up also.

Draco paused, gathering his thoughts. Ginny could once again see his inner conflict.

"My father is in Azkaban, Weasley. And you're right, there's no way I would let them hurt my mother." He paused again. Ginny listened, eyes bright, her rapt attention never faltering. "Our whole family has gone through hell. Father is in prison with a life sentence, my mother hasn't been quite the same since, and I – " Draco turned and paced around. "I have had enough of every bloody thing to do with this war! You have no idea what life has been like for me since that night. I am done with serving someone that wants to kill me. And this, Ginny Weasley, is where you come in.

"My choices are very limited. I can't stand up to him, or he'd kill me, and everything close to me. The Dark Lord is ruthless." He paused, and caught her eyes with his. "The only other option was to go into hiding. As you can see, I've succeeded thus far. He can't find me here. But it isn't permanent. If I leave permanently by myself, then he would kill my mother for sure.

"My plan is this, Weasley, and listen carefully." The threat in his voice sent chills Ginny's back. "Your father is going to set my father free from Azkaban, and we are going to disappear."

"What?" Ginny's eyes went wide. She felt a pang at her heart. Her father was probably worried sick over her, but that's not what was prominent in her thoughts. "You're running away?"

Draco narrowed his silver eyes menacingly. "What else can I even do? It's the only thing that makes sense. The only thing that would work."

"But…" Ginny stood up, her chair scraping on the floor, and creased her brows in thought. She felt desperately like she needed to get him to see the wrongness of his plan. Of just running away. "Don't you think you could fight against Voldemort? You could join the Order! They would protect you, and your knowledge of Voldemort and Death Eaters would be useful against him!"

Draco turned on her, frustrated at her. "There you go again, Weasley! You seem to think that I want to do good! There's no way I could stand alone against him, but what on earth is possessing you to think that I would want to help your _Order_ or whatever you call yourselves." He almost snarled. "None of them would accept us, and you know that as well as I do. They all think I'm a bloody murderer, and a Death Eater, like you keep telling me Weasley, so do me a favour and stop deluding yourself!"

That quieted her. He was right, she thought. No one would stand to have them around. She didn't really know his mum, but Ginny shivered at the thought of anyone of them, even herself, having to put up with Lucius, and she had trouble believing that he would cooperate. Wouldn't someone like Lucius Malfoy just go straight back to his master? She calmed down again. "Fine. But I still don't understand why you've had to tell me all of this." Ginny prompted, hoping to get an actual answer out of him.

Suddenly Draco was in front of her. He looked uncharacteristically desperate as his silver eyes gazed into hers. He ran a hand distractedly through his blond hair, disrupting the neatness of it, and Ginny read in his gaze that he was having trouble getting the words out. Whatever it was, it was difficult for him to say it.

"Look, Weasley." He started. "I…" he paused, looking very troubled and turned away from her, pacing the room angrily, and grasped the edge of the table with his hands and closed his eyes to calm himself down. He looked up at Ginny again, and she moved tentatively closer to him, neither of them able to look away. Ginny's softened gaze seemed to penetrate him, Draco imagined, and he felt oddly calm. "I need your help." He admitted reluctantly, eyes still on hers.

Ginny's eyebrows shot up. "With what?"

Suddenly Draco seemed to deflate. He looked tired; defeated, as though he'd given up on holding back. He approached her.

"I've been in contact with your father." He told her, aware of the look of shock on Ginny's face. "He's demanded that he see you before he makes any arrangements to release my father."

Ginny felt hope at the thought of seeing her dad. If her anyone would be able to get her out of this, it was him. She suddenly felt very homesick. But then her face fell, knowing something worse must be coming.

"You have two options Weasley," he said, slowly, making sure she understood. "He needs to believe that you are in mortal danger so I need you to act like you are. This is your choice. If you want the chance to talk to him, then you'd better behave. But if you aren't going to, then I am going to have to bind you up and tape your mouth shut, and it won't be very pleasant for you, trust me on that. You'd better believe that I no qualms with hurting you for this." Ginny could see that he was telling the truth, and sat back down, unable to think straight.

Ginny's mind was going haywire. This was so much information to take in at once; she didn't know how to digest it all. Draco looked at her, waiting for her response. Ginny ran a hand through her mess of red waves, and bit her nail, a bad habit of hers, and Draco's eyes followed her hand.

"Look Weasley, I'm asking you to do this for me." He said quietly. "I was hoping that maybe you'd see my dilemma here." Ginny understood. It was a life or death situation for him.

"When can I see him?" she asked.

"Tomorrow morning." Draco told her. "Will you do it?" he asked after a moment, his eyes searching hers for the answer. She was silent for a minute that seemed like an eternity. Had Draco made a mistake in thinking this would work? He suddenly realised the ridiculous situation he'd put himself in. She knew everything now. Well, everything important to _her_ anyway. That made him incredibly vulnerable to her, and he would feel like an utter fool, like he was already starting to, if she refused.

"Yes, I'll do it." Ginny told him sadly, resolved, and Draco heard the reluctance in her voice. She said nothing further.

"Good. Be ready at nine tomorrow morning." He ordered, and after a moment he left the room leaving Ginny alone. She walked over and sank into the couch.

Ginny also had her own personal dilemma, but she had weighed out the pros with the cons, and chosen despite her best interest.

Her issue was this: aiding in the freedom of Lucius Malfoy, the man responsible for the worst days of her life, who had supported you-know-who even while he was gone, and who had cared for nothing but his own greed and fortune and spent time and energy making her family's life as miserable as possible. The fact that she might be helping that bastard was causing her immense inner struggle. On the other hand, the good side of that idea, of talking to her dad, was that maybe he could get an idea of where she was, and rescue her without having to free Lucius Malfoy.

The other dilemma was the fact that Draco would have a major problem. He was already running from his assured death, and wouldn't be able to hide like this forever. She certainly didn't want him to die. Ginny guessed that Draco was smart enough that he'd made the place unplottable, and would take most precautions to make sure she couldn't be taken tomorrow. But why did she need to act like Draco was a murderer? Ginny knew her father would prefer to help someone that was relatively harmless, rather then a full out cold-blooded murderer. Ginny sighed and put her hands over her eyes.

She could do it easily; she'd always been a good actor, but there was always the chance that her father would see right through her. Her father would oftentimes catch onto things that her mother did not.

Ginny forced herself to stand up and drag her body to her own room, her mind still going wild. She already knew there was a sleepless night ahead of her.


	7. Chapter 7

A/N: Thanks to everyone that reviewed. You're all so amazingly supportive! Thanks for sticking with me. I've been fairly stressed out recently because of school, and I'm stuck for choosing which program to go into next year for university. Ok, you see, at the beginning of the year (by that I mean December), I had no idea what I want to do after I graduate, so I applied to a variety of programs. I got in everywhere but I've narrowed it down to two. I only realize now how stupid that was of me! Right now I'm stuck between going a really prestigious university for English, and going to the local university for Information Technology, where I would get a dual degree and it's based on multimedia and design, which I like. Opposite ends of the spectrum, if you hadn't noticed. It's about 50/50 right now but I have to choose in a few weeks, and it's killing me. Anyway, sorry for ranting. Hope you like this chapter! Please read and review if you like or dislike something. Constructive criticism is always welcome too. Thanks guys! Enjoy.

On a side note, if anyone's in the mood, go check out Catnipob's story Ferrets and Weasels. It's post-HBP also. It's pretty good and she updates regularly. Catnipob: there's a bit of publicity for ya ;)

Keep The Faith

Chapter Seven

_She was r__unning; sweating; gasping for breath. _

_He__r muscles were burning, hair whipping in her eyes, adrenaline pumping through her system. _

_It was dark; __but there was a light. She was running away from the light. _

_Shouts and loud footsteps were behind her. She knew they were close. The stone hallways seemed to stretch longer and longer as she fought to keep ahead and out of sight. _

_Finally she found her goal and ran straight into the __strong arms of the familiar figure. He caught her and led her into further darkness. When they were hidden and silence surrounded them, the man wrapped his arms around her tightly and nestled his face in her hair. He was quite a bit taller than her. They stood there for a timeless moment before he pulled back, though his hands stayed on her waist. He leaned his head against her forehead. Are you alright? He whispered, his eyes capturing hers. She didn't answer, but nodded unconvincingly. She leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder and he responded in kind. _

_Her heart still pounded; his strong body was warming her and protecting her__, but the uneasiness plagued her still. _

_A loud noise__ in the distance startled them both. A jolt of fear shot through her body as the sudden light of a wand blinded her in the darkness ._

Ginny sat up in her bed, heart pounding. She lifted a hand up to her eye level, blocking the early sun from her eyes. She was trembling violently. She clenched her fist and put it down.

The light of dawn was beginning to shine through the window, and the room was lightly gilded with the golden yellow of sunrise.

Ginny hugged her knees to her chest. She felt incredibly uneasy. She'd had recurring dreams before, but never one quite so vivid. It was the feeling of being chased that had her so shaken up. That was mixed in with plenty of emotions she didn't understand. She had butterflies in her stomach, making her feel nauseous, which was certainly _not_ what she remembered feeling only moments ago.

Ginny dragged herself out of bed, knowing she'd never get back to sleep. She didn't even know how she'd fallen asleep to begin with. There was only a few hours until they had to leave anyway. Ginny left her room quietly, and closed the door gently behind her. The house was serene and unearthly. She went into the bathroom and took a long shower, letting the hot water rain on her skin, massaging out the tension.

As the time was inching closer to their departure, Ginny felt a mix of feelings; hope and distress. Ginny had no idea what would happen. She wanted to help Draco, but not his father. She would get to see her own dad, but Draco wanted her to lie to his face.

Ginny didn't know how she would react. She no longer had a steady hatred for Draco Malfoy. Sure, he was still the same: an mean, annoying prat most of the time, but there was obviously more to him than she'd ever imagined. Ginny was getting used to everybody's lives being turned upside down because of this war, but she found that Draco's situation was a little harder to comprehend; she couldn't imagine what it was like for him.

Ginny finished with her shower and stepped out, wrapping a large fluffy white towel around herself. Her reflection in the mirror was pale, caused by the contrast of the dark red of her wet hair, and her light dusting of freckles stood out.

Ginny walked out of the bathroom and straight into something hard.

She lost her balance and a pair of hands caught her in and steadied her. He stepped back, but kept his hold on her arms. She looked breathlessly up and Draco stood there with a strange expression on his face as he looked down at her attire.

Ginny blushed and held the towel up securely. She cleared her throat. "Thanks, Malfoy." She said, embarrassed, and averted her eyes.

Draco's eyes shot to her face. He had an almost surprised expression.

She was still frozen in place by the touch of his hands that still hadn't left her bare arms, but he suddenly took them off, as if touching her had burned his skin.

"I don't understand you, Weasley." Draco said, more to himself than to her, and Ginny thought he looked very frustrated by his own words.

"You don't get told 'thank you' very often, do you?" Ginny joked. Draco rolled his eyes.

"I'm not a nice person."

"So?" she challenged, though she didn't know why. "Can't I say thank you for not letting me fall down when I walked into you? Even if you didn't consciously decided to do it?" She rolled her eyes.

Draco smirked. He paused, then said, "Are you always this clumsy?"

"No." she told him indignantly. "I'm just distracted."

But he still smirked. "Whatever you say, Weasley." Ginny glared half-heartedly, a half-smile playing on her lips. "You should probably get ready, we're leaving at eight-thirty now, not nine." Draco informed her.

"Um…ok." She said, narrowing her eyes in thought, wondering for the first time how exactly he planned to do this. "I guess I'll just be going then." Ginny told him. After an awkward silence, during which Ginny studied Draco, wondering about his plan, Draco nodded.

She started to leave, but suddenly he called her back: "Weasley!"

She turned around, holding the towel again so it wouldn't fall. Ginny watched as Draco's eyes lingered on her scantily clad body before snapping up to her eyes again. Ginny's blood froze in her veins. A pair of eyes flashed prominently in her mind; the eyes from her dream. They were the same ones that were looking at her now. Ginny felt like she had been struck.

They watched each other, but seeing her reaction, Draco frowned. "What's wrong?" he asked. Ginny suddenly realised that her eyes were wide and her jaw was slack. She made herself relax, shook her head, and cover it with a smile. "Nothing."

Draco didn't take his eyes off of her, searching her for the real answer, his expression unchanging. Ginny knew that he didn't believe her, but she was grateful he didn't say anything else about it.

Draco looked away, to a point down the hall. "Are you still…?" The question rang through the silence. There was a definite note of uncertainty in his voice, which disconcerted her.

"I'll convince my dad, don't worry." She told him.

Draco nodded, satisfied. "Good." Draco looked worn, as though this meeting was going to be as tough for him as it was for her. The dark circles around his eyes told her that he'd gotten about as much sleep as she had.

Ginny sighed and walked into her room.

What a great start to the day, Ginny thought sarcastically, hardly registering her own movements as she got dressed. She realised that the man in her dream, with whom she remembered feeling intimate and safe, was _Draco Malfoy_; it almost made the fact that he'd seen her in a towel seem insignificant.

But why _him_?

(((KTF)))

Draco needed to concentrate. He had the notepad in his hands, and was trying to memorize the instructions written down. Draco hoped to hell that this was going to work.

He looked in the mirror and ran a hand through his hair. He cast the words another long look, before putting it down and walking out of his bedroom.

Ginny was already downstairs waiting for him. Draco's eyes automatically trailed up her legs, remembering how good she looked in nothing but a towel. She was a Weasley, but he pegged it on normal male instinct. She was now dressed in jeans and a black sweater, but oddly enough looked just as good. Shaking himself, realising once again that this was _not_ appropriate to his purpose, Draco went to the closet and pulled out a coat which he handed to her, and one for himself. He found a winter hat and handed that to her also. "Your hair is too noticeable, Weasley, anyone ever tell you that?"

Ginny gave him a furtive glance, accompanied by a smirk as she played with putting the hat on.

"Let's go." He said, with a nod toward the door. It opened effortlessly, and Draco watched as Ginny's eyebrows shot up.

"I thought you weren't supposed to do magic?" she asked suspiciously. Draco raised an eyebrow.

"I didn't."

Ginny raised her eyebrows in question, but he ignored her.

Draco stepped out, waiting for Ginny to follow. He closed the door behind them both. He watched as Ginny breathed in the cool fresh air. He breathed deeply himself, not having breathed fresh air in quite some time. He reached out and took Ginny's hand in his.

Ginny jumped and tried to take her hand away, but he held on tightly. "What are you doing?" she asked, her brown eyes full of surprise.

Draco smirked, but inside he felt strange that he was touching her. "It's completely necessary, Weasley." He told her, as he pulled her along down the street. "I can't take any chances here, you know that. If I keep contact with you, you can't run away." As an afterthought he added, "So don't bother to disapparate." He glanced back to look at her, and gave her a devilish half-grin. "Try not to look so frightened, Weasley. It would not be good that any muggles suspect something strange. Just act like this is normal, ok?"

"You mean you want us to look like we're a couple or something?" Ginny asked doubtfully, before finally relaxing and lacing her fingers tightly with his, rather than just being held.

Draco cleared his throat. "Yes."

"Oh, alright." Ginny said nervously. "I suppose I could try."

They stopped after about a kilometre. A transit bus skid to a stop beside them and Draco led the way on, giving the driver money. He led them to the back of the bus and they sat down amidst numerous muggles.

They rested their hands between them, not quite sure where to rest them. The monotony of everyday life surrounded them with men and women reading newspapers or drinking coffee on their way to work. In the rumbling silence, Draco's mind contantly strayed to the warmth of her hand. Her skin was soft, and she adjusted her fingers to better fit his. Draco tried hard to imagine that it wasn't a Weasley he was touching, but oddly enough, it didn't really bother him as much as it should have, and that made him uneasy.

Twenty minutes later he said quietly, "We're getting off here, come on."

Ginny stood up with him and the bus jerked to a stop, and Ginny fell into Draco. _Oof!_ "…Sorry." She said, pushing herself off of him, and walking off the bus with him and a few other people, looking overwhelmed.

Draco tried to suppress a smirk. "Not used to buses, are you?"

"Ha ha. What made you guess?" she replied sarcastically. "At least it's not as bad as the Knight Bus." Following Draco's lead, they stood in place as people dispersed until they were alone.

Another bus pulled up and they got on.

Ginny was quiet; she looked like she was deeply in thought. Draco supposed she knew he wouldn't tell her where they were going, so she wasn't going to ask. Their hands were still clasped together. Ginny didn't even seem to notice anymore, or if she did, it didn't show.

This bus was less full, and it pulled into a dead neighbourhood, where they were the only two passengers to get off.

"Pull your hood up." He ordered, pulling up his own.

He waited until she'd adequately covered her hair, and was satisfied that her face was hidden from the light of the sun, and then started walking.

Draco led the way down the street.

(((KTF)))

Ginny was nervous. She'd had butterflies in her stomach all morning that were only amplified when Draco had elected to hold her hand in his strong grip, which had really freaked her out because of the dream.

From the beginning of the trip to the end, her nervousness had evolved into the anxiety of meeting with her dad. She knew it must have been at least nine-thirty by now, and she could sense that they were getting close to their destination. The neighbourhood was deserted and they approached an old, run-down, two story building.

Draco led Ginny around the building to a door at the back. He pulled it open and let her go first. When the door behind him was shut, Draco let go of Ginny's hand, and she flexed it. She followed his tall form down the hall.

"Can I assume that I'm unable to disapparate here too?" she asked him lightly.

Draco looked back at her with a eyebrow raised in suspicion. "Yes."

"Don't worry, Malfoy, I hadn't planned on ditching you." She guessed at his thoughts. "Believe it or not, I don't even have my liscence yet."

"That doesn't mean you're unable." He pointed out.

"True. I only learned in the summer from Tonks, but I'm not very good."

"Nymphadora Tonks?" he asked, surprised.

"Yeah. Why?" Ginny frowned, then it dawned on her. "Oh! I'd forgotten you were cousins."

Draco looked at her strangely with those piercing grey eyes, his mouth in a firm line, before continuing.

Draco led her through a maze of doors and they ended up in front of a blank wall. Ginny watched curiously as Draco stared at the wall with a look of concentration.

"What –" she was cut off by a sideways look of annoyance. She stood back, crossing her arms, the nervous feeling overtaking her.

He took his wand out of a pocket inside his robes and tapped it on one spot on the wall, then another beside it, and finally on top, forming a triangle. Ginny knew that this form of magic would not be traced by anyone, and technically it wasn't even magic being cast, but she was still surprised by it.

Draco turned around and grabbed her hand once again. He walked toward the wall, and disappeared through it. Ginny followed close behind.

The room they appeared in was empty, with two wooden doors in opposite corners and a big window looking into another smaller room.

Ginny stood awkwardly in the middle. "Is this it?" she asked, her voice anxious.

"Yes. We have a maybe twenty minutes to wait." He said, leaning back against one of the walls with his hands in his pockets and looked up at the ceiling. "This used to be an old muggle police station. That window there," he pointed to it. "is actually a one-way mirror. We can see into that room, but when he comes, your father will only be able to see his reflection from that side." He informed her.

Ginny studied Draco. How had things suddenly become so casual between them? She wrapped her arms around herself.

"You must have had someone arrange all of this for you." She stated, watching Draco with focused attention. Draco's narrowed eyes flicked to hers, holding her gaze.

"What's your point?" he inquired in a bored tone that was betrayed by the anxious look in his silver eyes.

"Nothing. I'm trying to figure out who it is that knows about all of this. I was thought you were doing this alone."

"I did plan everything, Weasley," he told her warily. "but I needed assistance with the preparations."

Ginny frowned, and sank into her own thoughts as to who it was. She had no idea.

A door creaked open and startled Ginny. A figure appeared in the other room. Ginny gasped and ran forward to the window. "Dad!" She watched as he tried to open the door that joined the two rooms. It didn't budge.

"He can't hear you." Draco spoke quietly. He was observing Ginny's behaviour, feeling very annoyed with himself. Now that she was here, she wouldn't cooperate. It was obvious that all she wanted was to go home with her dad. She would probably do what she could to help herself. It was what he would do in her situation, in any case.

Arthur paced around a little bit and stood still in the middle of the room, his wand out in front of him, as he observed his surroundings. His mouth was set in a thoughtful frown. Ginny recognized a look of understanding on his face that was out of place for the situation. He turned his head, and seemed to look straight at her for a moment.

Draco strode up beside her and purposely pressed a button on the wall. "Arthur Weasley." He spoke into a box on the wall. Arthur suddenly looked frightening. His stance became offensive and his face bore a dangerous look. Arthur was so easy going that he hardly ever got angry, and it frightened Ginny to see it.

"Draco Malfoy." He said back, not taking his eyes off the window. "I know you're in there." His clear voice rang loud and clear. "Where is she?"

"Right here dad!" Ginny said into the box, pushing up beside Draco, who swatted her away impatiently. Arthur's look softened considerably as he heard his daughter's voice.

"She's here." Repeated Draco, coldly. "Put your wand down, and walk through the door."

They watched as he put his wand down slowly, and moved toward the door again. Ginny's heart leapt as it opened. As soon as Arthur walked into the room and the door shut behind him, Ginny flew into his arms. Arthur stood in shock for a split moment before returning the embrace. "Ginny! We were so worried about you! Are you okay? Did he hurt you at all?" he pulled back and looked into her face worriedly.

Ginny shook her head. "No. He –" Ginny stopped herself, remembering she was supposed act afraid. "I mean… yes."

Ginny pretended to glance back at Draco fearfully, before burying her face in her dad's robes.

Arthur's look hardened as he glared at Draco, who stood half-way across the room, staring right back, impassively.

He pulled Ginny back again and bent down to look at her. "Ginny, dear, what did he do to you?" he demanded.

Ginny closed her eyes. She hated lying to her father. "He –" she began reluctantly. What would she say? "He beat me, dad." She said quietly, trying to act like it was true. "And he told me he'd kill me." She looked back at Draco with a helpless look. He looked back at her with a grim look in his eyes. Ginny guessed that Draco didn't particularly like being laid out as a potential murderer as much as she didn't like saying it.

Arthur tensed up, not taking his eyes off of Draco, he asked her harshly. "Did he touch you?" They all knew he was asking if he had raped her. Ginny watched Draco's eyes harden almost imperceptively.

"No!" she said before she could stop herself. Ginny pushed the palm of her hand against her forehead in frustration with herself. What happened to her acting skills? She was knew she was sending contradictory signals all over the place, and that her dad would catch on soon.

Sure enough, Arthur looked suspiciously between the two teenagers. Ginny knew her dad was always cool-headed, and that was why he never got caught up in emotions, and could look at things objectively.

"Ginny." He said after a minute. "What's going on?"

_Damn_ She knew he'd see right through her. Ginny observed her dad for a moment.

She looked back and caught Draco's eyes with her own, willing him to understand her. She watched as Draco narrowed his eyes at her. Ginny gave him a semi-apologetic look and turned back to her dad.

"Dad," she started, taking his hands and bringing his eyes back to her. "He hasn't hit me, and he hasn't touched me. That was all a lie." She said, telling the truth.

"Ginny, what are you talking about?"

"He's been treating me well considering I'm a hostage." She added.

"Weasley – " Draco growled and she turned back to him to see anger and betrayal in his face. And fear – there was a definite sign of fear hidden behind his grey eyes. Ginny realised he probably thought she was condemning him to his death.

"Trust me, Malfoy." She said quietly to him.

"Ginny –" Arthur cut in. "What the hell is going on here."

Draco was suddenly beside them, Ginny's arm in a vice grip. "That's it. This is over." He said icily, and began to pull her away.

"Get off of her. Malfoy." Her father's icy tone scared her. He stepped between Draco and Ginny, shielding his daughter.

The two men glared at each other, eye to eye. They were nearly the same height. Draco was slightly taller, but her dad was broader all around. She sincerely hoped this wouldn't become a fist fight. She didn't know who would be the strongest, but she would have put her money on her dad.

"Make me." Draco spat menacingly.

"I'm not letting her go back with you, Draco Malfoy. So you might want to forget about that."

"You don't exactly have that choice, Weasley." Draco scowled. Ginny found herself completely ignored. She bit her lip and made a quick decision by placing herself in the line of fire.

"Stop it!" she yelled, placing a hand on either man and pushing them apart. "I am _not_ leaving yet!" she yelled to Draco, who glared at her but didn't move, and she turned to her dad. "Dad, stop it!" she pleaded with him. "I am not going back with you either!"

Both men looked down at her, surprised. "What?" Arthur demanded, confused.

"Weasley, don't." Both redheads looked at Draco, but his attention was focused on Ginny. She pleaded Draco with her eyes.

"Draco's been running from Voldemort, dad." She said loudly, getting their attentions. She felt Draco tense under her hand. He suddenly turned around and stalked off to the other side of the room, standing with his back to them angrily.

Ginny turned to her dad. "Look, dad." She started, bringing his attention back to her. "I know this is going to sound strange."

Arthur watched his daughter with confusion written on his face. "What is it Ginny?"

She didn't know where to start. "I need you to help him, dad." Draco whipped around to look at her. "I know what is at stake here. If it's a choice between life and death, I'd want him to live." She told him. "I was serious when I said he hasn't hurt me, you know. Haven't you always been one to reserve judgement? Please, dad, I need you to help him. And if you don't want to do it for him, do it for me. Please." She begged him with her eyes.

Arthur could see the earnest emotion in her eyes. He'd always been able to tell when his daughter was being sincere or if she was lying to get out of trouble. He watched her looked back at Draco, who was staring at her, stock still, with an unreadable look.

"Ginny," Arthur began sharply. "Do you even know what you're asking me to do?"

"Yes." Ginny said hesitantly. She sighed and whispered so Draco wouldn't hear. "I know, dad, but I would rather Draco live and let Lucius out of Azkaban than the other way around."

"Are you sure, Ginny?" Ginny felt a twinge in her chest at the emotion in his eyes.

"Yes." She pleaded with her eyes. As Ginny watched her father, she knew she had convinced him.

Arthur stood up straight and with one last look at Ginny, walked over to where Draco stood. Ginny wrapped her arms around herself and watched.

"Is she telling the truth?" Arthur asked. Draco shot a glare in Ginny's direction, but nodded briskly to Arthur.

"I'm assuming you'll be headed out of the country?"

"Yes." Draco conceded.

They studied each other for a minute or so, neither one looking remotely friendly. Ginny felt like she could cut the tension with a knife.

"It might take a couple of weeks to arrange." Arthur said finally. Ginny watched Draco's eyes change to surprise from behind his icy exterior.

"Fine."

"What about your mother?" Arthur asked, out of the blue.

Draco blinked. "Excuse me?"

"Your mother, is she going to be safe? I'm assuming you had planned to bring her with you, wherever it is you're going." Arthur guessed.

Draco stared in disbelief at the man. "She's – she's fine for the moment." He said warily, no-doubtedly trying to find the ulterior motive to the question.

Arthur nodded. "Alright. I'll notify you of the release date on further notice." Arthur terminated the converstation, walking back over to Ginny.

"Ginny," he gave her one last hug. "If he does anything to you, anything at all, I will hunt him down myself."

"Okay dad." She said. "Thank you."

Suddenly he turned serious. "I don't know why you are so insitent about this, Gin, and I don't like it, but I'm going to trust your judgement. Are you absolutely certain about this?" he asked her gravely.

Ginny looked back at Draco and nodded, hoping she wasn't wrong.

Arthur left the room through the door he'd come through, after saying goodbye. Ginny stood still, watching him leave.

Draco was suddenly by her side. "We have to go, now." He said, taking her hand and pulling her through the wall where they had come in. This time, however he led them through a slightly different route, that was shorter and opened to the outside from a different door. When they were outside, Draco pulled her behind him and ran through a couple of dark alleys and abandoned streets. After about five minutes they made it onto a crowded street, and slowed down to a walk. Ginny stopped, trying to catch her breath. "What the hell are we doing?" she demanded. Draco rounded on her.

"We had to get out of there before your dad made it back in case your precious Order is around and looking for you." He told her.

"What?" Ginny frowned. "They're not…" she trailed off as her eyes focused on something in the distance. Draco whipped around and his eyes landed on their old professor, Remus Lupin, in the distance. Giving Ginny a dangerous look, he pulled her briskly in the opposite direction, down the crowded sidewalk. Draco pulled his hood up to cover more of him, and Ginny did the same.

"Don't say anything." He told her. About a kilometre down the road, Draco stopped and looked at his watch, looking anxious. "We have about ten minutes to wait." Draco looked around, making sure the area was clear. "See anyone you know?" Draco asked her.

Ginny shook her head. "No."

With another look around, he pulled her into a dark alley between buildings. "What are you doing?" she asked. He didn't answer her.

They stood just inside the dark alley for about a minute, when suddenly she felt Draco tense.

"…I can't find her…"

"…Neither can I, I've looked up and down the street…"

"…they must have left already…"

The voices got louder and louder. She recognized them as Tonks and Remus and she panicked. "Draco-" she whispered urgently, tightening her grip on his hand.

"Be quiet." He shushed her and pushed her up suddenly against the brick wall. He captured her eyes with his. "Play along, please." He whispered. Not letting go of her hand, he moved into her. Ginny looked at him with wide eyes. "Put your arm around me." He ordered gently. Ginny suddenly understood. No one would bother them if they thought the two of them were a random couple doing something inappropriate. Ginny wrapped an arm over his shoulder and Draco put his face by her ear. "Don't let them see your face. Or your hair for that matter." he whispered. Ginny swallowed and nodded. His breath on her ear was making her stomach do flip-flops. His free hand went to her waist.

In her peripheral vision, Ginny saw the two figures stop right in front of the alley. Ginny felt Draco move his hand down her side to her thigh at the same time she saw Tonks look at them for a split moment before blushing and looking away, taking Remus' arm and walking him just past the alley. Ginny breathed a sigh of relief, and knocked Draco's hand off of her, giving him a look. He just smirked in return, and Ginny rolled her eyes.

"Look." She heard Tonks say. "They're not here. We should probably just get back…" Ginny loosened her grip on Draco, realising how tightly she was holding on. They were out of sight, so Draco pulled back gently until he could look at her.

Ginny looked up at him. He had a solemn expression on his face.

"Why are you helping me?" he asked quietly.

Ginny looked up at him in surprise. She knew he meant everything, not just playing along. Ginny was all nervous again. This was getting all too much like her dream. She even felt safe in his arms. _Safe from my own people, _she thought ironically, _what in Merlin's name is wrong with me?_

"Because I'm on your side." She whispered back eventually.

"What?" his brow furrowed and his eyes searched hers.

"Believe it or not, Malfoy, I don't want you dead." The corner of Ginny's mouth twitched up.

Draco's silver eyes were a pool of emotion for the first time she'd known him; not of anger, but of doubt and gratitude. He obviously wasn't used to kindness. Though, she didn't really know why she was being so kind to him; she was just compelled to. Neither looked away.

Suddenly a loud bus schreeched to a stop right across from them. Draco jumped back suddenly.

"Damn it. That's our bus." He told her quietly. Gripping her hand tightly, he pulled her to the sidewalk, stopping just before the others were in sight. "Shit." He swore.

Draco pulled his hood down over his face as much as he could, and peered around the corner discreetly.

"Oof!" Ginny heard, and peered around the corner also. Tonks was on the ground, and it looked like she'd tripped over a rock on the sidewalk. Remus was already bent down to help her up, chuckling. Before she knew it, Ginny was being pulled out into broad daylight. They hopped onto the bus just as it started to move. Ginny gripped onto Draco's robes to keep herself steady and watched as the two Order members receded in the distance, completely oblivious to what just occurred.

This trip back went by fast. Ginny's mind was reeling. Draco Malfoy was turning out to be so different than she'd first imagined. She's been driven by curiosity at first, but now that he had revealed so much more of himself to her, Ginny found that she didn't hate him, quite the opposite. She was intrigued by him, she was attracted to him, though Merlin knows why, and she wanted to help him. Ginny looked down at her hand entwined with his. She couldn't get her mind off of the feel of his hand. She looked up at his face. Draco was leaning back on the seat with his eyes closed. She studied the smooth skin of his face. The perfect arch of his eyebrow and the line of his jaw.

Ginny knew that he was an arrogant prick, she even knew that he would probably never change. Who was she kidding? Ginny knew that she should shut out the feelings and not get attatched, because in a couple of weeks, if her dad was right, Lucius Malfoy would be released and Draco Malfoy would disappear forever.

But Ginny didn't want to think of that just yet.

They didn't speak the rest of the way, and walked through the doors silently. Ginny let go of his hand as he turned to lock the door. His tall, strong figure turned back to her and they stood looking at each other awkwardly.

Ginny raked a hand through her hair.

Draco watched her. He'd been fairly quiet all day. True enough, he didn't know what to say. Her behaviour was so unexpected, which he should have been used to by now, he thought sarcastically, but she just kept surprising him all the time. He hadn't been angry at her all day, which was unusual, but maybe that was only because he was no longer trying to scare her. Even just the touch of her skin against his made his calm. She was a Weasley for Merlin's sake! Draco cursed himself. He didn't get it.

Ginny watched Draco also, and guessing what he was thinking but would never say, she gave him a smirk, and said, "You're welcome, Draco." With that, she turned around and walked back into the house, leaving Draco there, frowning.


	8. Chapter 8

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to Jo Rowling, not me.

Note: I've split this chapter up into two parts. Chapter nine is the second half. Sorry if I caused any confusion.

AN: Hey guys. I know that this one took a lot longer to get out than some of the other chapters have. This chapter was actually pretty difficult for me to write – I don't really know why, but it was. That, along with the mad rush at the end of school, and exams, has made my life insanely hectic for the past month or two. I'm sorry I made you wait. So, I really hope you enjoy this one. I wanted this chapter and the next to serve as some insight into Draco's past, as well as some other stuff. I'm not really sure how you're all going to react to it, but I like it, so I hope you do too.

Tanelle – thanks for the advice on choosing a university. It did actually help, and since you asked, I've decided to go into the English program. :) So, are you guys excited for the HP5 film? It's coming out on Wednesday and I'm going to go see it at noon! Haha… I couldn't find anyone to go with that was free on the 11th, so I'm actually tagging along with one of my best friends and her mom (believe me, that's not the first time it's happened either). Just one other thing… I'm going on a trip around Ireland, Wales, and some of England at the end of July!!! I am super excited. It has been my dream to travel there for years! Anyway, there was no point to really telling you that, other than the fact that I wanted to express my glee! Heheh… okay, now onto the actual story: please read and review!

Keep the Faith

Chapter Eight

Luna shivered in her warm woollen coat, as she wandered the cold stone hallways of Hogwarts. There was a chill in the air that was attributed to more than just the cold weather. The icy atmosphere was the product of the dark underlying mood around the castle. The days were getting shorter, the professors had all become noticeably stressed out, and there was an unspoken truth that it all had to do with the war. The professors were all reluctant to give out information, and they only revealed what they deemed entirely necessary. Luna had badgered McGonagall and Hagrid constantly for the past few weeks for information about Ginny. She knew that they knew what had happened but would not tell her.

Luna knew that it must be bad if they refused to tell her. Having Ginny around had been a constant in her life as of late, and Luna missed her company. Luna tried not to worry too much because she knew she would just find out eventually. It was unlikely that she'd be able to help anyway. She didn't believe that the teachers were cruel enough to keep news of her death a secret to her, so she knew that Ginny was alive.

Luna was up early. She was a bit of an insomniac, and when she couldn't sleep, she was wide awake. She often wandered the halls before breakfast, as she was doing now. Turning a corner, she suddenly heard a familiar voice speaking; "…tonight."

Luna stopped in her tracks and looked around. The voices were coming from McGonagall's office. Luna approached silently, and tried to listen closer.

"I can't believe Arthur is complying so easily." The stern voice of the headmistress said sharply. Luna could see the lights on behind the open crack of the door, and saw the shadows moving behind.

"It's quite complicated, Minerva. You know that." Luna's wide blue eyes widened. It was Remus Lupin, a member of the Order. Luna hid herself in an alcove to eavesdrop.

"It's just hard to believe that such a man as him is willing to do such a horrible thing for the boy. I'm sure he could have gotten around it." _Boy?_ Luna thought, _what boy?_

"Arthur had his reasons." He paused, before continuing, "Ginny Weasley is more important than I think you know." He told her gravely.

"What are you talking about Remus?"

"We have the information from one of our spies that Ginny is a main target of the Death Eaters." Remus' voice went quiet and he talked in hushed tones. Luna listened intently.

"What?"

"She's already valuable for just being Arthur's daughter, you already know that, but she's the seventh child and the only girl for several generations. I think they believe she must be a potential threat, as well as the perfect way to hurt their main enemy. Don't you know that seven is the most magically powerful number?" There was a pause. "I thought you would. The source has told me that they think she might have very powerful magic. I don't know whether or not that's true, but it's what they believe, and they want to kill her. Every single Death Eater out there is on the lookout for Ginny."

"Oh my heavens, that poor girl." McGonagall's voice was faint.

"Believe it or not, Draco Malfoy is in fact protecting her from that horrible fate – for the moment at least." _Draco Malfoy? Protecting Ginny?_

"I'm still amazed that that boy is still alive, when we hadn't heard anything about him for months." Luna could envision McGonagall shaking her head in as though she couldn't believe it. "He doesn't know that he could be saving her life, I presume?"

"I wouldn't be so sure about that, Minerva. According to Arthur, the boy is supposedly not working with them for this. I believe that he must have been aligned with the Dark Lord at some point, so I'm sure that he knows they are after her. Maybe it wasn't his original intention to help her, but he must know that he is."

"Oh, Remus. I hope she's alright. He'd better not have hurt her." _Hurt her?_

"You should have seen Arthur after he saw them last week. You would have thought she was being seriously mistreated by his reaction, but do you know what he told us? Ginny was asking him to help Draco."

McGonagall gasped. "No!" _What in Merlin's name is going on? _Luna thought. None of this made sense.

"It's perfectly true. I don't understand it myself." Remus paused as though in deep thought. "He's quite intelligent you know, Draco Malfoy. We had the whole town surrounded, and they slipped past us. He outsmarted us."

"Well I just hope he's true to his word, and lets her go after tonight."

"Me too, me too." He sighed.

"Remus, what news of the last mission?"

"It failed, Minerva. Again. We're losing hope. Arthur's thinking that we may have to start anew, in this case."

"Just let me know if you need my help. I hear Kingsley Shacklebolt was killed yesterday." She said solemnly.

"Yes." Remus' gruff reply was short. It was obvious the conversation was getting too emotional, as were all things associated with war nowadays. "He was undercover for the Order down in Diagon Alley. There was a Death Eater Raid at the Inn."

"When's the funeral?"

"Later this evening. You'll come, won't you?"

"Of course, but I don't think it wise to leave the school for too long in these days. We still don't even know how that boy got in the grounds undetected."

"I know. The Order is going to meet after the funeral. Arthur requested that you be there." Remus told her, and after a moment, the door opened, lighting up the corridor for a moment as he left down the hallway. Luna heard McGonagall sniff and shut the door completely, and the hallway turned black.

Luna turned away and leaned her head back against the stone, her mind reeling. Ginny was wanted by Death Eaters, and was kept somewhere by Draco Malfoy? Was she helping him? None of it made sense.

Luna heard McGonagall stirring in her office, and decided to get out of the area. If she was caught wandering the halls alone this early in the morning, she would be in detention for a month, so she pushed herself up off the wall and continued her daily journey through the castle, contemplating what she'd just witnessed.

(((KTF)))

It was early in the morning, and Draco couldn't sleep. He crawled out of bed, combed his hair, and made his way sleepily downstairs.

Draco stopped just outside the kitchen once he saw her and leaned against the doorway lazily. Ginny was busy making her way around the kitchen. Her hair was put up in a careless messy bun, and soft waves tumbled around her face. She wore a pair of silk pink pyjamas that clashed horribly with her hair, but she looked so good in them that Draco had a hard time looking away. The silky material flowed over her curves, and Draco's eye lingered over her lithe body. She looked delectable even in pink pyjamas. He'd recently given into his male urges and admitted to himself that he indeed found her attractive. Ginny paused to push back a lock of hair from her eyes with the back of one hand, and saw Draco in her peripheral vision. She whirled around suddenly.

"Oh! You scared me!" Ginny's eyes passed over Draco's lean figure. Draco glanced down also, and realised he was still wearing his pyjamas – a pair of plaid green pants and a grey t-shirt. He inwardly groaned, suddenly feeling somewhat uncomfortable under her stare. He always made a point to dress flawlessly, but hadn't yet, not expecting her to be awake. "It's not very nice to sneak up on people like that, Malfoy." She reproached, smirking.

Draco rolled his eyes. "Maybe you're just not very perceptive." He replied.

Ginny pursed her lips as she observed him. "I'll have you know that I'm very perceptive," she told him haughtily, then added somewhat sheepishly, "most of the time."

He snorted. "Well that explains it." He muttered. Ginny proceeded to ignore the comment. They looked at each other for a moment.

"So, how are you today, Malfoy?" Ginny asked him. Draco sighed and leaned his head back, looking up at the ceiling.

"How do you think I'm doing?"

"'Just bloody fantastic' I would guess from that tone." Ginny replied. "You're up early." She mused.

Draco raised an eyebrow. "So are you."

Ginny smiled wryly and went back to her cooking. She was preparing something on the stove, and Draco just noticed the alluring smell of bacon. She spoke over her shoulder to him. "I thought I'd make us breakfast this morning, seeing as you're leaving."

His look shifted to the table and he froze. There were two places set. Ginny saw him looking and grinned nervously, trying to guess his reaction.

"I wasn't expecting you to be up so early, so it will be a while before it is ready. You can have a seat if you want." She told him. Draco's eyes flickered to her, and he went to sit down at the table. Ginny, who had been watching him expectantly, gave a satisfied smile and went back to the stove.

It had been a week since the time that they had seen Arthur Weasley, and ever since that day, things had changed. Ginny was there from her own will, even though they both knew that she could never escape him if she tried. Things had become casual between them, and Ginny had been leaving Draco to himself if he told her to go away, and spending time in his company if he didn't. On his part, Draco stopped trying to scare her, or hurt her. He found that now that there was no need to, it seemed ridiculous to continue. Even the fact that she was a Weasley didn't seem a good enough reason. He found that he could think better and wasn't always in a bad mood when they got along decently.

Yesterday he'd gotten the message on the notepad relaying the massage that Arthur had arranged to free Lucius in secret for tonight, and that Ginny was expected to be set free right away. From Draco's odd behaviour, Ginny had guessed that something was up and so he told her.

He watched her lazily from his seat as she made her way around the kitchen. He felt a strange feeling, but not a bad feeling, when he saw that she was making breakfast for him. He felt sort of a warmth rise up in his chest, but it was quelled by his suspicions. Everyone, he knew, had an ulterior motive for their actions. Even Pansy, who had always wanted something in return, and she was the girl he'd ever been the closest with.

After several minutes of contemplative silence, Ginny brought over the food and sat down.

"You made a lot." He remarked, raising his eyebrow at her.

Ginny sighed, and looked at the platter of food. "Yes I know. It's habit." She looked squarely at him. "I have six brothers you know."

"Yes, I remember." he spoke, settling his silver-grey eyes on her.

She glared at him half-heartedly. "What?"

Draco smirked. "When you were sick, you told me that."

"Oh." She scrutinized him for a while, and then looked away with a slight smile on her face.

They piled food on their plates, and started eating in silence.

Draco almost groaned in pleasure. Merlin could not have concocted a better meal than her, he thought. It must have been more than half a year since he'd had a full, home-cooked meal like this one. Ever since he'd run away with Severus, he'd had to fend for himself, and he didn't generally have the will-power to care enough for his health, when there were so many more pressing matters. When he lived with his mother in the summer, the house-elves couldn't even make a good meal.

When he went to reach for second helpings, he looked up to see Ginny watching him with a small smile on her face.

Before he could even think about it, he told her, "This is alright, Weasley."

Her face lit up in pleasure, and she smiled openly at him. "Thanks, Malfoy. I'm glad you like it."

She looked so sincere in that moment that it made Draco feel like a great git for thinking otherwise. He paused for a minute, before deciding to confront her.

"Weasley?"

"Hm?"

"Why are you doing this?"

"Well," she began, leaning forward on her arms. "I couldn't sleep, for one, and I wanted to talk with you," she admitted.

When Draco didn't answer, she continued, "And… I thought that if I did something nice for you, you'd probably be so shocked that you might accidentally open up to me." Ginny teased him, giving him a mischievous grin.

His lip twitched up at that, but then he sobered up. "A conversation about what?" he asked dryly.

"Well…" she looked down, suddenly unsure of herself. "About, you know…what happened to you."

"Look, Weasley," he began. "Stop with pretences, alright?" he stared her down, looking distinctly unhappy. "I know what you're doing."

Ginny's smile faded. She leaned back defeated in her seat. "You do, don't you?" she said to herself. Why did he always seem to know everything; absolutely everything that a person was thinking? "And what precisely do you think I'm doing?" she asked warily.

"What you're doing, Weasley, is trying to manipulate me into telling you what happened, because I'm the only one that knows everything, so you can go back and tell your _Order_." He paused, and then added, "Haven't I told you enough?"

"Can you really blame me though, Malfoy?" she challenged, ignoring his last comment. "If I skip the chance to find out everything that actually happened surrounding Dumbledore's death, it would be like betraying my cause. They've all been searching for the truth since that night Draco. They've been searching for you, too."

"Me? Why?" he demanded.

Ginny didn't know what to tell him. How could she tell him that Harry was convinced that Draco was not the same as other Death Eaters? She settled for telling him part of it, "We all thought you were dead."

Draco frowned as he observed her. He could tell that she was purposely keeping something from him, but he let it go. "You keep referring to them as 'they.' Does that mean you aren't part of it?" he knew instantly from her darkened expression that he was right.

"I'm not allowed." She grumbled. "If it was my choice I would have been helping them months ago. I hated going back to Hogwarts. They kept me there to keep me safe, but see how well that turned out?"

"You don't think you're safe here?"

"You know what I mean, Malfoy, being kidnapped and all."

He gave her a half-amused smirk.

"So now you want fresh information so you can get in their favour." he stated, figuring her out. Ginny looked disgruntled, not expecting him to see right through her.

"Maybe that's part of it," she admitted, "but that doesn't mean I can't have other motives for wanting to know what happened to you." She frowned. "Or maybe you don't know," she added gently.

"Don't know what?" Draco watched her suspiciously.

"That maybe I care the slightest bit about you – about what happened to you!" Ginny told him, exasperated. She stood up, and paced around. "Why do you think I've been helping you this whole time? I'll have you know that I made you this breakfast just because I felt like doing something for you, and seeing as you're leaving soon I might be the last thing I ever do with you. And that's not to mention that you" she gestured to his thin form, "are too thin for your own good. I thought you should eat something good for a change."

She stopped what she was doing and looked at him, slightly embarrassed from her words, but still watching him intensely. Draco felt ensnared by her direct look. She had a hand on her hip, underneath her buttoned up silk top, showing a little bit her milky white skin. Why was it that every time he saw her, she got a little bit more attractive?

Draco knew he hadn't been eating well. He knew he was thin, although it didn't really show because his body was toned and muscular. It surprised him to hear that Ginny noticed _and_ cared about it.

But she cared about him? Or just about what happened to him? Draco couldn't even wrap his head around that. What did she mean by it?

He looked at her. Her determined eyes watched him for a reaction. When had things gotten so twisted around? She should hate him, if not for the fact that they were supposed enemies, than for everything he'd done to her over the past few weeks.

He should hate her too, but he didn't really. What was the point of hating her anyway?

What was the point of anything anymore?

Draco decided to get off the subject, and forced a sardonic smile at Ginny.

He started eating again.

Looking down at his fork, he spoke, "What do you want to know?"

In his peripheral vision he could see Ginny looked at him in surprise. "What?"

He looked lazily in her direction, and could see that her mouth was slack and she was staring at him in disbelief and hope. "What is it that you want to know?" he repeated, in an edgy tone, already regretting the offer of information.

Ginny sat down again and leaned forward subconsciously to him. "Really?"

The pleased smile she wore didn't put him off. He leaned back, and crossed his arms, and raised an eyebrow. "The offer's going to expire if you keep up like that."

"Sorry." She said quickly, and tried to stifle the grin. She sobered up quickly enough. "I'm sorry."

"Draco," she began seriously, "what happened to you after that night?" Her eyes searched his.

Draco sighed, and rubbed his eyes with the palms of his hands.

"Could you have chosen a simpler question?" he chuckled humourlessly.

Ginny watched him attentively.

He paused to organize his thoughts.

"Those few weeks are a blur." He started, not looking at her. "After Severus killed Dumbledore, we both ran off together. The Dark Lord gave me the mark. After that I didn't even know where I was at first. I couldn't go home, for the chance that they would find me. I certainly wasn't in any sane state of mind. There were Death Eaters everywhere." He paused, remembering the distasteful memory. "If it hadn't been for Severus, I might have been –" he stopped, as Ginny had just placed her hand on his arm, right over his mark. He was speechless for a moment, wondering if she was doing that intentionally. Ginny's brown eyes defied him to say anything. He continued, "I might have been killed, which actually might have been the better alternative."

Ginny watched Draco in fascination as he spoke. She could tell he wasn't so much speaking to her as he was just getting his thoughts out.

"The Death Eaters, like Avery, Nott, Rosier, and a couple of others, were angry at me because I wasn't killed. A lot of them were angry at the punishment that my father had caused them because of his failure, and they took out their anger on me whenever they could. The only people that were sympathetic to me were my old school friends, Theodore Nott, Blaise Zabini, but that didn't last long. They had to listen to their parents. It's a dangerous world, being a Death Eater, Weasley; you couldn't even begin to understand."

His eyes pierced hers, and he felt suddenly distant from her. _Why am I telling her this again? She can't understand._

The constant painful tingling in his arm had suddenly eased a bit as Ginny ran her fingers lightly along his skin, tracing the mark. He closed his eyes involuntarily at the feeling. Luckily Ginny's attention was on the mark.

"When was the last time you saw your dad?" she asked him suddenly, a hateful glint returning to her eyes briefly, which she tried to disguise.

Draco looked curiously at her reaction and narrowed his eyes. It had been the same last time Lucius was mentioned. He suddenly felt quite offended. He stared at her, refusing to answer. "That's none of your business Weasley." He told her sharply.

She took her hand away from him. Silence rang through the air.

"It's just a question, Malfoy." She retorted.

"More like an interrogation." He scoffed. "Why can't you mind your own damn business?"

Ginny stared at him, disturbed by his sudden change in attitude.

"I know that you think all of this is just your own business, Draco, but all these events surrounding you are a lot bigger than that! It matters to a lot more people than you think."

Draco stood up suddenly, and walked toward her. "You know what, Weasley? I can see the look in your eyes every time my father is mentioned. Why should I bloody answer when it's so obvious that you loathe him? What is it then? Did your daddy tell you scary bedtime stories about him? I hear your father was too cowardly to stand up to him." His scathing voice cut through the air. "So what the bloody hell is it that you can hold such a grudge for him?"

Ginny stood up also, a look of hurt and anger written on her face, his words cutting her deep down.

"What the bloody hell is your problem, Malfoy? Your father is a horrible person, and that's all you need to know." Ginny yelled heatedly. "You know what? Maybe you're nothing but a malicious, arrogant prat, and I'm just sorry I had any faith in you from the start!" She looked at him, hurt and incensed from the past memories of her first year. Draco stared back with his mouth in a thin grimace and his brow furrowed angrily as he glared at her. "Maybe I'm just an idiot for believing in you – for thinking that maybe there was something deeper behind that spiteful persona of yours." Ginny's fiery eyes were blazing and her eyes welled with unshed tears. They glared at each other for a prolonged moment, their eyes clashing. Ginny couldn't read him, but the anger emanating from him scared her.

Eventually he spoke; his voice was low, icy and dangerous. "I never said I was anything other my 'persona,' as you call it," he sneered. "I've never been a nice person, as I keep telling you, Weasley, and I'm not going to change, no matter how much you want me to."

He stalked past her, and she put a shaking hand to her mouth, muffling a sob, and a tear finally escaped through her anger.

She didn't notice he had stopped in the doorway for about a minute, rubbed his hand exhaustedly over his eyes, and turn back to look at her. Obviously she would hate him, their families were enemies, as he so often told himself. He had the uncontrollable need to make her understand him. Two seconds later he was behind her, and she saw him out of the corner of her eye and turned around. Ginny just looked at him angrily through teary eyes. He took a moment to gather his thoughts before speaking.

"You're not an idiot, Weasley." He began softly, though she heard him perfectly, and it sent jittery butterflies in her stomach. He watched her earnestly. "Look, I know you think I'm a horrible person. I've no idea why you keep doing things for me for no good reason. Merlin – you've helped me more than you could know." Although the words could have been sentimental, his voice certainly wasn't. His hands abstractedly touched her arms above the elbows, sending shivers unknowingly through Ginny. He continued, speaking harshly. "But I'm leaving soon. Permanently. I'll probably never see you again." She felt pain at those words and unwillingly flinched. She missed the look of pain on Draco's face as he watched her. Draco caught her eyes with his and held them. Draco had never felt this open to anyone before in his life, but he continued. "I'm going to lose you forever. Do you really believe that me trying to like you more now is worth it?"

Ginny's eyes snapped up angrily to his, only to see that there was an underlying look of concern and regret inside. She closed her eyes and was silent for a moment as she thought about it. He was leaving forever in the next week or so, and she would probably never see him again…ever; for some reason that thought was too unsettling for her and she felt rather sick.

She looked at him again. "You're probably right, you know." She said. "You'll be leaving soon, and we might never see each other again." She said painfully, and stalked out of the room, leaving Draco feeling as though he'd just made a huge mistake.


	9. Chapter 9

AN: I've decided that the chapter that I had was too long for one chapter, so I tried to split it up and this is basically the second half of the last one. Sorry if you've already read it and I got your hopes up. I just figured that it's probably easier to read when it's shorter.

Please review! I'm really anxious to see what you think.

Keep the Faith

Chapter Nine

Draco sat in the armchair in his bedroom later that afternoon with his eyes shut tightly and his head in his hands. Things were all of the sudden rushing back to him. All those memories that he wanted to forget. They were so distant in his memory that he hadn't thought about it all in a long time. Damn Ginny Weasley for making him remember. What was it with that girl? One moment they would be at each others throats and the next she would be consoling him, inquiring about his wellbeing. He had been a horrible prat to her, on purpose, and had done things to her that many would probably deem abusive, but she seemed to think he was a good person, which he wasn't, he knew, and he didn't understand why she didn't seem to know it. The painful tingle in his arm was firing up again from when Ginny's touch had last put him at ease, but he tried to ignore it.

Draco lay back and thought of the past.

–––––

"Draco," a girlish voice called out in the middle of the Great Hall. People stopped what they were doing to look, everyone but Draco, who sat staring at the tablecloth in front of him moodily. Pansy was walking towards the Slytherin table. Despite that she had the first couple of buttons undone on her blouse, and her skirt was hitched up to mid-thigh, which was against the rules, and her normal sexy saunter was replaced with a careless speed walk. She had become more and more distracted from her appearance lately, and they all knew why. She and Draco were having issues. It was a known fact that Pansy was in love with him. She would go out of her way to make the boy comfortable. However, Draco himself had been distant with everybody lately. Nobody knew why.

Sending a glare to students' curious eyes, she sat down beside the sulking boy.

When people started to turn away, Pansy turned to him with a mix of incomprehensive frustration and pity.

"You didn't meet me last night." She said quietly in an injured tone.

Draco shrugged his shoulder in response. "I wasn't in the mood."

"But Dray - co," she whined. "Why not? You've always wanted me before."

"Sorry." Draco told her quietly, actually being sincere for once. He looked at her. "I have a lot on my mind."

One of the things about him that had Pansy fawning over him were these rare moments when he was 'real' to her, because she was the only one that saw this side of him. She rubbed his arm in comfort.

"Is it about … the dark lord?"

Draco shrugged her off and looked ahead again. He'd made note to never tell Pansy anything, because although she was his girlfriend, she was the biggest gossip in Slytherin house. The news would be out as fast as a firebolt. Living in Slytherin, keeping one's personal life to oneself was normal, so that was not so much the cause of their distance. Draco knew, however, that one of the reasons Pansy had idolized him lately was because she was in awe of the fact that the dark lord had given him a task. If she revered him because of that, he didn't think he could ever see eye to eye with her. He no longer thought any good about the dark lord and his task, and felt himself estranged from his own house.

–––––

"Draco! Tell me something." Pansy panted as they walked together in the deserted dungeon hallway. Draco looked around to ensure they were alone.

"No." he seethed.

"I won't tell anyone, promise." She grabbed onto his shoulder.

"Get the fuck off of me, Pans." Draco shoved her roughly and she stumbled back, stunned. A moment passed and she caught up to him once more, looking angry.

"All I know is that something has been happening to you, Draco. It has to do with the Dark Lord, I know it. If you just tell me –"

"I said no, damn it!" he stopped and turned to her, the hostile look in his eyes stopping her in her tracks. "Get out of my business, why don't you?"

"Fine," she sniffed. "Fine. Whatever you are doing to yourself, Draco, these dark arts you're involved in, you're isolating yourself from us. I don't even know you anymore." There were tears in her eyes. "I thought I loved you, you know, but you're a complete stranger to me now. And if you're not even going to try, then we're over!"

Draco stared after her as she ran off down the hallway, leaving him in darkness. She was probably expecting him to go after her, he thought. But he felt numb inside. He felt nothing. He registered her pain, but he couldn't make himself feel anything like he normally would have half a year ago. The pressure was threatening to explode within him, but he couldn't react.

His feet led him idly throughout the castle, cruising the empty hallways, not even registering the people that walked by him. A feeling of restless panic, of helplessness took over his mind.

He ended up on the third floor. Feeling on the verge of breaking, he punched the thing closest to him, the wall, and shouted out his frustration. He threw down a suit of armour with a loud crash, and let his frustration and anger out on everything in sight. When his adrenaline slowed down, he leaned back against the wall as his emotions overtook him, his hand over his eyes, and drew in a shaky breath.

"Why are you making such a racket? Have you come here to taunt me?" A girly voice drifted to him. Draco looked around. Standing – or floating, actually – in the doorway of the girl's bathroom was the ghost, Moaning Myrtle. She floated over to him, staring at him through her big round glasses.

Draco looked away, and ran a shaky hand through his hair. "You've got blood on your hand," she stated cautiously. Draco looked down at his hand indifferently. It was true – he'd cut his hand rather badly when he'd punched the wall, he only now noticed the pain. He shrugged a shoulder mildly and ignored it, looking away again.

"What's the matter with you?" Myrtle asked, moving closer still.

He looked at her and their eyes connected. "I'm going to die." He told her, voicing his fears for the first time.

–––––

Draco hurried through the hallways, glancing over his shoulders every so often making sure he was alone. He had a plan – and if it worked… he might have a chance. When he reached the portrait, he paced back and forth, thinking automatically, _I_ _need to finish the cabinet, I need to finish the cabinet, I need to finish the cabinet_. When the entrance appeared, Draco hurried in, and made his way purposefully through all the junk in the room, to the spot near the back where he had spent so many hours recently.

The vanishing cabinet sat untouched where it had been left, and Draco set to work right away. He muttered the spell he'd discovered in the restricted section of the library, and waited. Leaning in close, he listened for a sound – any sound. He felt around inside the cabinet and pushed against the back. The back creaked open, but what he saw was not the other side of the room he was in; through the cabinet he saw exactly what he wanted – into the store of Borgin and Burke's.

He let out a laugh of relief. Followed by another. He felt surreal. He could see hope for a change rather than his doom.

–––––

Draco was running. His adrenaline high, as the blood pumped in his ears. He followed Snape as they ran on the grounds. Dumbledore was dead, and Snape had murdered him. It was all he could think other than the drive to get away. They were close to the gates. "Run, Draco!" he heard Snape yell. Draco was less than twenty yards from the gate. He looked back to see Snape had turned around and Potter was running at them, yelling something. The others death eaters were ahead of him. When Draco ran past the gate, he turned back and saw the devastation he had brought upon the school. Potter and Snape were going at each other and yelling incoherently, two death eaters were behind them in the distance. The groundkeeper, Hagrid's hut was aflame, casting an eerie glow upon the battlefield. With the scene in his mind, he disapparated, all of the yelling and noises from Hogwarts turning to a sudden deafening silence.

When the pressure left his head, he fell down onto his knees on the cold floor of the vaguely familiar house. After five minutes of silence, he stood up, and composed himself. Snape should be by soon. He had told Draco to apparate to Spinner's End, to Snape's own home. He'd been there before, visiting with his father when he was young, but he wouldn't be staying long. Both of them were going to have to go into hiding. He looked around at the dark décor without really registering what he was looking at. All he could think of was what had happened up on that tower.

Draco couldn't decipher his own feelings. From this moment on, his life would be changed for ever. He would be permanently in the service of the Dark Lord, and that was if he was lucky enough to not be murdered tonight. Because for all he knew, these were his last few hours left. In those few minutes that he stood there, he thought of what had happened that night. Dumbledore was dead – which was what the Dark Lord had wanted, but Draco himself hadn't been the one to do it. Without him, it surely wouldn't have happened like that, but how would the Dark Lord see it?

CRACK.

The noise of Snape apparating behind him didn't deter Draco in the slightest, and he continued to stare straight ahead. Snape put a hand on his shoulder and turned him around. Through the numb feeling that Draco felt, he glared at Snape, noticing the blood soaking through his robes and the look of rage in his eyes that Draco had never seen before, but Draco didn't care. "Draco." Snape began through gritted teeth. "You're life is going to be entirely different from now on. You're good at occlumency, so use it. Don't look at him or say anything. Let me do the talking. Now let's go."

"Where?" Draco demanded.

"We're going to visit the Dark Lord, Draco, to decide your fate." After a moment's consideration, he asked seriously, "Do you need a minute to prepare yourself?"

Draco shook his head. He was as ready as he'd ever be.

Severus Snape nodded in understanding, and grabbed Draco's arm tightly and they apparated to somewhere he'd never been before.

"The Dark Lord should be coming soon," Snape told him, but Draco felt nothing. It could be the end, or not, but either way, his life as it had been was over.

The Dark Lord certainly had come. He had been angry with what had happened, but thought that Draco had done well getting them into the castle and executing the plan, so he let Draco live, but not, however, without punishment. That night he'd gotten the mark, and become the victim of much initiation of Voldemort's inner circle. They took it upon themselves to make his life as miserable and painful as they could make it. They cursed him until he was bruised and bleeding. He'd received the cruciatus so often that he almost became immune to pain. He was certainly strong, but he was no match for four or five Death Eaters at a time. Severus was the only one that ever put a stop to his abuse, but he couldn't always do it. He was soon enough subject to a life of inhuman torture and submission to the wizard he'd soon come to hate most in the world.

–––––

One day, Draco was in the Malfoy Manor. It was inaccessible to most of the wizarding population, so he felt safe there. A sudden sharp pain in his forearm foreshadowed the Dark Lord's need for him, and he made his way down into the entrance hall of his home. But suddenly he was no longer alone. A group of Death Eaters burst through the front door and made their way loudly inside.

Draco stared, outraged. "What the fuck are you doing here? Get the hell out of my house!" he told them stonily.

Some of them laughed, while others took out their wands. Draco took out his own wand, and advanced toward them. A piercing laugh cut through the air. He turned to see his hateful aunt Bellatrix looking at him.

"Little Draco," she laughed mockingly. "This is no longer your home, boy."

He glared. "Damn you, Bellatrix," he sneered down at her. "I don't care if we're related; get the fuck out of my house."

An ugly sneer crossed over her face, and she aimed her wand at him. "Crucio!" Draco fell to the ground, writhing. It felt as though a thousand knives were stabbing him all over, but he refused to cry out. All he registered were the cruel laughs of the watching Death Eaters.

A minute later it stopped, and he lay on the ground catching his breath. It was quiet save for his ragged breathing and someone's heavy footsteps. A hand appeared in front of Draco's face, and he took it, letting it pull him to his feet. Snape stood in front of him, his face a mask. The other Death Eaters had gone silent and looked disgruntled. Snape looked at Draco steadily. "Draco, Malfoy Manor has recently been declared Death Eater Headquarters."

Draco looked around. They were all smirking at him. He looked up at Snape once again in confusion. "But how –"

"Your mother." Severus told him quietly.

When he'd questioned his mother on the subject of giving his house to the Dark Lord, she'd told him to just let it be and let them live there if they wanted to. With that, he gave up on trying to defend his house. He gave up everything, and started to plan.

–––––

During a secret visit to Azkaban, Draco found it quite unbearable. He wanted to be in and out of there quickly. The dementors had a worse effect on him now than they ever did in the past. He figured that it was probably because his life had been less than pleasant for the past half a year, he thought cynically.

Draco, wearing a dark robe and a hood that covered his pale face in shadow, was led by one dementor to the high-security wing of the prison. Ghastly looking men and women could be seen moaning and muttering incoherently from behind bars, some of which looked at him hauntingly with pallid complexions and dark eyes. Draco walked quickly to his destination. The one sane-looking man in the whole wing looked at him coolly.

"Draco," he greeted smoothly. "What a surprise."

"Father." Draco walked up to the bars, and his father did the same. Draco was not allowed inside the prisoner's cell.

"What are you doing here, Draco?" he asked, quick to the point.

Lucius was aware of what had happened to Draco and Narcissa and the Malfoy Manor, Draco knew, and was not happy about it.

"Father I need to ask you something."

Lucius nodded.

"I have a plan – to get away, but I need to know first if you will come?"

"You want to run away?"

"Yes." He stopped at Lucius' disapproving frown. "It's the only way, father. You _know_ what life has been for mother and I, I know you do. Do you really think that it's worth it? For any of us? Mother is living surrounded by Death Eaters that don't treat her well, you're going to rot in here or get killed if you go back to him."

"Fine," he conceded abruptly. "What's the plan?"

"If I get you out of here, will you go and rescue mother from them, and leave the country? I'll be in hiding, so I'll catch up to you later."

After a moment's thought, he answered, "Yes."

Draco nodded. "Good. Just be prepared if you're end up being released by someone you don't like."

"Like who?"

"Arthur Weasley."

Lucius nodded in approval. "You're blackmailing him?" he asked, impressed.

"That's the plan."

–––––

Draco opened his eyes again. He hadn't thought about all of that in a while. It would be good to finally be away from it permanently, as he would be when his father got out of Azkaban later that day. He should be feeling happy that they would be leaving soon, but it felt strange. Strange that he would be leaving his previous life all together. Soon enough, all of this would be nothing but a distant memory. But he could not make himself happy with that thought.

(((KTF)))

The sound of the heavy rain pattered on the roof. The day was gloomy and dark, and Ron and Harry were exhausted. It had been a while since any of them had slept well. They all thought that they'd been so close to their goal, but it turned out they were just as far as before.

Harry rested his head in his hands. The reality of frustration and helplessness was thick in the air around them. Neither could escape it. He yawned and lay down on the old couch and stared at the wooden ceiling.

Ron, on the other side of the room, sat watching Harry. He had been sitting in the deep windowsill for what seemed like ages, watching the rain pour down, trying to think. Thinking was never really Ron's department, and every so often he would turn and watch Hermione poor relentlessly over thick volumes of books that looked about five hundred years old. At one point he noticed the cold, as their fire had gone out, so Ron had moved to set it aflame again, and to put his coat over Hermione's shivering shoulders. That was the only time in hours that anyone had moved significantly.

They had been so close to their last mark, and it tortured Harry that it had completely eluded them again. All three of them were tired. Harry especially felt as though the weight of the whole wizarding world was resting on his shoulders.

"How's it going there, Harry?" Ron joked, trying to lighten the mood. "Come up with any genius ideas yet?"

"Yeah. I think we should start over from the beginning." Harry told them seriously.

"Start over?" Ron looked vaguely green. "What do you think, Hermione?" he asked in her general direction.

Both boys were shushed when Hermione held up a finger strictly. Her right index finger was skimming over the pages quickly as her eyes ate up the words.

Harry and Ron shared a look. Hermione had done this an endless amount of times, thinking she'd gotten somewhere important, but it always turned out to be nothing.

"Ron, Harry," Hermione looked up at Harry excitedly, "I think we have something."

(((KTF)))

It was evening, and the heavy rain, which created a constant patter on the windows, cast a tense and foreboding atmosphere on the house. Ginny had been depressed all day. At first it had been because Draco had rudely brought back the worst memories of her life, and she had spent a majority of the afternoon lying on the couch recalling the horrifying memories of Tom Riddle. But then, her mind kept going over their argument, and the aftermath, and she realised something that shocked her: she was going to miss him.

Draco Malfoy was a mystery. She wanted to know everything about him. She wanted to see him happy. She wanted him not to have to run away.

Ginny couldn't imagine going back to her old life. She'd hated it. She had hated living every day feeling useless, being trapped in the Castle, waiting on the sidelines while almost everyone she knew was out there doing their part for the war. Helping Draco wasn't something she would have predicted, but it suited her. She felt like she was finally doing something worthwhile by helping him. But not only that, he distracted her. She wanted to spend time with him; she wanted him to like her. But then that was where she went wrong. Ginny knew that he wouldn't. It was who he was. He didn't want to make things more difficult, he'd told her. Well, she thought, it was not making anything easier on her. Her heart felt like it was clenched in a fist.

That's what her father had always told her when she was younger – that despite her mischievous side, she loved so easily that she was destined to be hurt if she wasn't careful. Of course, she didn't _love_ Draco; she was just incredibly attracted to him. Not just his looks, because she was obviously attracted to his personality – despite that he was cruel and insensitive a lot of the time, for the last week or so, he had shown her that he was so much more than that. She just didn't know what it was yet. That was probably what was most fuelling her to help him.

And it was this desire of hers that made her so depressed about never seeing him again. With Draco gone, there was no doubt that her life would go back to how it was before.

Ginny lifted herself up from the couch and walked out of the room which had turned dark. It must have been fairly late by then, and she wanted nothing more than to go to bed, but she knew that she would never be able to sleep. Not with the knowledge that Draco was leaving soon the next day. Ginny made her way slowly down the hallway toward her room.

She was in front of her door, when Draco appeared in his open doorway, leaning casually against the frame. He'd obviously heard her coming. Ginny refused to meet his eye. "Weasley," he muttered. She paused in her ministrations. "Look – I just wanted to say…" he trailed off at Ginny's expression, getting a good look at her for the first time. Ginny, on her part, was trying to prevent tears from coming, and she knew it must have shown on her face.

"What's the matter?" Draco asked her, shifting his position so that he was no longer leaning. At this show of feelings from him, Ginny suddenly broke. She looked up at him angrily.

"What is the matter with me? _What is the matter with me?_" Ginny looked up at him, the fire emanating from her eyes, she clenched her trembling hands into fists. "A lot, okay? I am trying to help you! I've been good about leaving you to yourself about it too. And when I try and ask you questions, you don't answer! And maybe that's just none of my business. Fine! But that doesn't seem to matter! Because I am so bloody attracted to you, so insanely curious about what has happened to you, and when you leave…when you leave I will never see you again! And it hurts to think about it. Maybe that's selfish, but no matter how hard I've been trying, I can't forget it!" She wiped angrily at a tear and glared at Draco, knowing that she was babbling. Angrier at herself than him, and whirled around, disappearing into her room.

Draco was left staring at the air where she had been standing.

_What… what had just happened? _

He had been angry at her, but now his heart was aching – a strange feeling. His mind was reeling. Ginny liked him? The spirited redhead that he'd kidnapped, hurt, and who should rightfully despise him, desired _him_? Forgetting all of his previous thoughts, Draco knew that he had to do something. He couldn't leave them like this.

Letting his feet guide him, Draco moved surely toward the door. He stopped just outside of hers. Then he knocked, gently. Ginny took a moment to open the door, but Draco stood immobilized, staring at her from intense silver eyes like he was possessed. Ginny's eyes were slightly red from crying. Her red hair was down and in a beautiful mess of red, and her brown eyes looked torturously up at him.

She looked so lost and lonely, like he felt.

Before he even knew what happened, Draco was right in front of her, his hands were on her face, and his lips were on hers. His arms wrapped around her, holding her close. After a stunned moment, Ginny's soft lips responded with vigour and ferocity. Her breath mingled with his; the taste of his lips and the feel of his invading tongue drove her wild; the sheer intimacy and impulse driving her wild. Her soft body was held as though for dear life in a tight embrace against his.

Draco was the first to pull away, catching his breath, and leaning his forehead against hers with his eyes closed. He whispered her name. "_Ginny_."

She looked up at him, feeling slightly drugged from that first kiss. She ran her fingers down the side of his face. He opened his eyes and they looked at each other for a long moment.

She suddenly smiled almost giddily. "You said my name," she whispered, and pushed herself up on her toes to make contact once again.

The beautiful mesh of lips continued with growing passion. Through the intoxicating contact, Draco vaguely wondered why he hadn't done this before.

He started walking forward, never taking his lips off of hers. He shut the door behind him distractedly, and they backed into the dark room even further.

Ginny's hands were suddenly in his hair, grasping and letting go erratically. Draco's strong hands went to her waist, moving up under her shirt, caressing the bare skin of her waist and back and stomach, tracing the bottom of her breast. Ginny groaned into his mouth, pressing closer to him.

They suddenly hit the bedpost. Draco's hand went down to her thigh and he lifted her up, placing her gently on the bed, without even breaking the touch.

And he climbed down on top of her.

His lips travelled to her neck, and he breathed in the scent of her. Ginny moaned in bliss and arched up into him, and her hands travelled to the collar of his shirt, undoing the buttons one by one, and he shrugged it off impatiently.

Ginny ran her hands up his strong chest, and pulled him back down. She could feel the evidence of his arousal, and her eyes widened involuntarily. He must have noticed her sudden stillness, as he stopped kissing her neck and looked into her eyes.

Seeing the pool of desire in his grey eyes along with the question, Ginny kissed him fiercely, encouragingly. His hands suddenly went up her shirt, pulling it off of her. The heat between them warded off the cold, but Ginny felt a shiver go through her and butterflies in her stomach. Dazed from the emotions and heat of the moment, Ginny moaned in pleasure at his touch.

With all of his strength and willpower Draco pulled back. "Do you want me to stop?" he whispered seriously as he lifted himself off of her with his elbows. Ginny's eyes were alight with passion and he couldn't look away. He wanted to kiss the living daylights out of her, and do a lot more than that, but although his self-control was long gone at this point, he refrained from touching her.

Ginny's chest was heaving with nervous excitement. She looked nervously up at him for a full minute. Brown eyes searching silver. She could hardly think straight. He was like a drug that made all other thoughts fly out of her head. Her brain was telling her that there was something wrong with this, but she couldn't think of what. It felt so right. She couldn't think straight, so she went with her heart. "No," she breathed, and pulled him down to her again.

Whatever happened, would happen, she told herself. At this point there was no way she could make herself stop.

(((ktf)))

Please leave a review and tell me whether you like it or hated it. Thanks for reading!


	10. Chapter 10

Disclaimer: Harry Potter stories are not mine.

AN: I know this is not a very long chapter, but it's necessary. I wanted to get it out before I leave for my trip to the UK and Ireland (on July 22). When I get back, I might decide to make this one a little bit more detailed than I have it, and refine it a bit.

I know that what we're all about to read a book that will undoubtedly change our opinions of many things, including this story, but I've decided that I will be keeping to my original story of how I imagined it to be, despite anything that happens in the book, but I might decide to change a few details in the future of the story so that it's closer to what happens in the book. Maybe. What do you think?

I am going to get my copy of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows tonight at midnight, so I'm not expecting anyone to really read this until they've read the book, but when you do, please leave a review! Thanks for the great reviews for the last two chapters.

Keep the Faith

Chapter Ten 

Lucius Malfoy was a top security prisoner. He had been constantly surrounded by dementor guards and the sounds of all the other dangerous criminals that were imprisoned in the high-security wing. It was these prisoners that Voldemort did _not_ want released from Azkaban. And Lucius Malfoy knew it.

That is why he was so surprised when he felt the sudden lifting of emotions as he sat as usual against the hard wall. The unnatural darkness disappeared along with the lightening of mood that was literally unknown within these walls. The Dementors had gone, he knew. Lucius rose to his feet slowly, narrowing his eyes in wariness, unsure at first what was going on. That was until he remembered what the boy had said. Had Draco actually blackmailed Arthur Weasley into setting him free?

Lucius was sceptic, to say the least. Draco was a boy that sometimes had trouble getting what he wanted – he almost never showed his real potential, something Lucius had tried to drill in the boy - but he was known to wimp out for some things. Lucius had not believed that the boy could actually succeed in something so cunning and genius.

Lucius felt a sudden surge of pride well up within him. It was strange. He hadn't remembered ever feeling this strongly about anything. Lucius knew that the dementors probably affected him less than anyone else because he knew how to control his emotions and had made a point to be detached from everything.

Lucius walked slowly to the bars of his cell. From a certain angle, he could see into the other prisoners cells. He looked around and noticed the others doing the same thing. They must have all realised that the coldness had lifted off them. Lucius leaned forward, putting his weight on the bars and the door collapsed in front of him, swinging forward. They all looked at him.

Lucius looked all around, on the lookout for something suspicous.

He noticed something on the ground by his feet. He bent down to pick it up. A broomstick and a wand were lying isolated on the ground with a note. He picked it up slowly.

_You'd better leave this country, for the boy's sake and your wife's sake, or else I'll have to do something about it. __– A.W. _

Lucius smirked and reread the note. Well, that was it, he thought. _I'm free._

The hollow eyes of the prisoners followed him as he moved out of his cell and walked toward the exit down the dark wing holding the broom and his wand, not even glancing at the other prisoners as they yelled out after him, rattling their bars.

Once he would reach the exit, he could fly away. Finally. To be out of Azkaban would be a welcome change.

(((KTF)))

Lucius had flown for a bit, then appparated in Spinner's End. Snape wouldn't mind, he was sure. True enough, his old friend wasn't even there.

The rumble of thunder could be heard with flashes of lightening through the window. It was raining hard. More than usual, he thought. Lucius looked around at the familiar house and moved slowly to the nearest armchair to sprawl his long form out in thought.

He had to get Narcissa, which shouldn't be too hard considering it was _his_ manor, and no one knew all of the secrets but the three Malfoys themselves. He knew that his house had been used as the Death Eater Headquarters, and he couldn't, no matter what, leave that alone.

Lucius looked cooly at the wall. He knew that his son wanted him out of the country. He could do that, but he couldn't just _leave. _

He could leave his mark among the Death Eaters, and get some sort of revenge. Or he could confront the Dark Lord himself. His master. He could gain back the favour that he had lost at the ministry, and he would be in the Dark Lord's inner circle once again. Lucius smiled with mirth at the thought.

But…

What Draco had said made a lot of sense. If he wanted to live on his own terms, to get his son and wife away from the Dark Lord, they would have to leave in hiding.

Narcissa, who was not a weak woman, had relented and given up Malfoy Manor.

And Draco, well… Draco was in hiding already, sure to be killed the instant he was found.

Lucius ran a hand through his long platinum blonde hair, and glared in annoyance. This – all of this – was that Potter boy's fault.

Lucius made up his mind. He would get Narcissa and leave the country.

He would go to the Malfoy Manor, knowing full well that it was infested with Death Eaters, and then he would take her and go.

Lucius took a shower in Severus' bathroom, taking advantage of the man's house, and then apparanted to Malfoy Manor.

He appeared in a stone corridor of the dungeons and made his way purposely through the maze of hallways.

He couldn't know where there were Death Eaters at that present moment, but he could be cautious and take only the hidden passages.

Lucius moved like a serpent through the different rooms of his house. When he knew he was near the entrance hall, Lucius stopped, hearing a noise. He turned around suddenly to find none other than Severus Snape approaching him from behind. The dark haired man nodded his head in greeting. Lucius reponded in kind. The two old friends watched each other.

"You were at my house, weren't you." Severus said wryly. Lucius smirked.

"I figured you wouldn't mind." He replied. Severus grinned suddenly, and the two men embraced briefly.

"You don't seem surprised to see me, Severus."

"I'm not." Snape told him. "I was helping your boy with a few… minor details."

"Ah – I wondered how he had managed all that." Lucius said.

"Don't discredit Draco, Lucius. He's quite intelligent, you know."

Lucius raised an eyebrow, and discarded the subject.

"Severus – where's Narcissa?" He asked, getting to the point. He knew that he would have to find her quick before anyone else knew he was here.

"She's in her room. They let her keep her own chambers."

Lucius nodded his thanks and turned to leave.

"Lucius." Snape's sharp voice held him in place, but he did not turn back. "Take her and get out. Don't do anything rash, or you will get yourself killed, and you'll take them with you." He warned.

Lucius turned around to face him, but he had already disappeared.

Frowning to himself, Lucius started walking again.

He made his way through the corridors. He must have been on the second floor when a sudden schreech – or more like a cackle – pierced his ears.

"Well, well, well, look who it is." Standing in front of him was his wretched sister in law. Lucius raised an eyebrow lazily and held his wand out at her. He inwardly cringed at his luck.

"Bellatrix, my dear, you would do wise, I think, to go back to whatever hole you crawled out of." He said calmly, tauntingly.

Bellatrix laughed at him. "I wonder what the Dark Lord will do when he finds you here, Malfoy." She said. "Shall I go fetch him for you? Want to take a bet on how long you'll be alive?"

"Crucio!" He yelled, sending the witch to the ground, screaming in pain. He held her there with his wand. Finally, some revenge, he thought. Let that wench suffer.

"_Lucius Malfoy_." A high pitched voice sent chills down his spine, and he froze.

Walking into the room was none other than the Dark Lord himself. Voldemort.

Lucius fell onto his knees. "My Lord." He said reverently.

As the Dark Lord approached him, Bellatrix's cold laughter came back slowly, chillingly.

"_Bellatrix, begone_." Voldemort banished her.

When the area was silent, he approached Lucius, who adventently kissed the hem of his robes. "Forgive me, my Lord." He whispered.

"_Get up._" Lucius found himself being dragged up with magic, and held around the neck. He found himself looking into the blood red eyes of the Dark Lord, and he couldn't look away.

Memories suddenly flashed through his mind – His time in Azkaban, Draco's visit, his escape, reading the letter from Arthur Weasley – but then, his whole life began to flash through his eyes, his days at Hogwarts, his initiation to becoming a Death Eater, his marriage to Narcissa, Draco as a baby, and as a child, and at the ministry of magic last year.

As Lucius watched in horror at the red eyes as thoughts blurred through his mind, he knew that the Dark Lord was reading his thoughts. But he didn't know where that had left off, and his life flashing before his eyes began. All he knew, was that this was the end.

He was thrown to the ground, and his gaze shifted to the doorway behind Voldmort.

Narcissa had just entered the room, and she stood in shock. His look was apologetic, as he nodded to her to leave the room.

He looked back to the Dark Lord. His wand was out.

"_You have betrayed me, Lucius. You will pay. Avada Kadavra!_"


	11. Chapter 11

A/N: So sorry it's been so long. There's just been so much going on, and this chapter was hard to write for some reason. I think I ended up changing it a couple times, so I hope you like the one I decided to go with! Thanks for sticking with me. Please review! Reviews make me happy, so the more I get, the more inspired I might be to update sooner! ;)

Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to JKR, and that is that.

Keep the Faith

Chapter 11

When Draco opened his eyes early then next morning and saw Ginny Weasley's face right in front of him, a thousand thoughts flooded his mind all at once. She was in bed with him. He had slept with her. His father was out of Azkaban. He could leave, and go into hiding for the rest of his life.

Just the though of it made his stomach twist. The preparations had felt like they would never come to and end, but then Draco had put his plan into action, Ginny had been put into the picture, and this is where he'd ended up. It felt strange to know that it was all going to be over soon, and that he would have to start over.

Draco focused back to Ginny's sleeping form. He forced himself to relax, and watched her.

She was so close to him that he had to restrain himself from moving even closer so that he could touch her. When he looked at her, he remembered everything from the night before, though his memories were somewhat distorted from the desire and strange behaviour that it had brought out of him. The sky outside was dark, but dawn was drawing near, and he knew that he had to leave.

Draco watched Ginny for a few minutes, unable to tear his eyes from her face. He felt… strange. Like a fist had grabbed around his heart to stop him from moving away from her. Draco drew in a breath, and he gently reached out to move a lock of hair away from her face, surprising himself when he lingered there, not wanting to stop touching her. He glided his fingers lightly down her cheek, and dropped his hand.

It was killing him to know that he was going to hurt her.

But he had to leave. His father's message would have gotten across to him by now. Ever since he'd been here, he'd wanted to leave as soon as the opportunity arrived, but now he did not feel that rush. It was completely necessary, of course, as he couldn't stay in hiding here forever, but he found that he did not want to leave.

Slowly, so as not to wake her, Draco removed himself from the bed, only fully realizing in that moment that he was in fact stark naked, and remembered that she was also. His eyes raked over her covered form, feeling his throat go dry. He sought out his pants, and pulled them on quickly, and picked up the rest of his clothes. In two strides he was at the window, closing the blinds. Hopefully she would sleep in, and maybe he could even leave before she woke up. It would make it easier on him. That would at least prevent the need to say goodbye. Even to him it seemed rather heartless, but what else could he do?

Draco made his way to the door, but faltered for a moment, and he turned back to watch her. She was someone he had hated, without really knowing her. He still didn't really know her. But now there she was, having willingly spent the night with him. And all he wanted was to stay.

This feeling was short-lived, however, and Draco forced himself to look away, resolving never to think of her again. He applied what he'd learned all his life: to suppress his emotions; to have control. There was nothing he could do to make it better. All he could do was forget.

(((KTF)))

Hours later, the late morning sun was rising in the cloudy sky, bathing the house in patches of sunlight. There was one room, however, that had remained enclosed in darkness, and inside it, one person that slept on, completely unaware.

Ginny groaned as she stirred. Opening her eyes briefly, she took in her surroundings. The window was shaded, which was unusual since she always left it open, but the brightness of day invaded the room from the edges of the window.

Ginny closed her eyes again. She felt groggy and exhausted. Blearily she looked at the clock.

_11:34 am._

Ginny rubbed her eyes and looked again, squinting. That couldn't be right. She rarely slept past eight in the morning. She shivered, snuggling further into the heavy quilted blanket. Whatever time of the day it was, it was cold.

She looked sideways, furrowing her brow as though she was attempting to find something that wasn't there. It felt like something was missing – something big and important, the cause for her rather uncharacteristic behaviour of sleeping in and shutting the blinds.

When she looked around and saw her clothes flung ruthlessly on the floor, it all came back to her.

_Hands were all over her bare skin, on her stomach, down to her thigh, up into her hair. His hot, sweaty body was on top of her, and her own hands were entangled in his hair, holding his face down to hers so she could kiss him. _

_Oh my god_, Ginny thought, paralyzed as it all came back to her in a torrent of memories.

Had she actually slept with him? That would explain why she felt so exhausted. Ginny grimaced and peered under the covers. Yup – she was definitely naked. Draco Malfoy had seen her naked – had touched her naked body. Cringing, she covered her face with her hands, trying to block out the memories.

Well, he wasn't here now, was he? Ginny hugged her stomach at the horrible sick feeling of betrayal. Obviously it had not been that big of a deal to him.

She felt a sudden panic rush through her. Had he left for good? Did Draco already leave with his family into hiding? Without even telling her?

Oh Merlin. What had she been thinking? Sure last night had felt good – rather frantic and rushed, if she remembered correctly, but definitely _good_. But now it just seemed like one big mistake.

Ginny realised with a sudden cinch in her gut, that although her body had guided her, and it had been what she'd wanted, she was sure that the only reason she'd done it was because it was perhaps the only way to be close to Draco before he left. If she had been thinking straight, she would have been smart enough to tell herself to stop … maybe. Ginny groaned at the memory of the pleasure that even the smallest touch, the lightest kiss, made her feel. _However,_ Ginny thought, narrowing her eyes, _it was him that initiated it – him that kissed me like that. Was he just taking advantage because he was about to leave?_

Ginny felt like she wanted to crawl into a dark hole and never emerge. She had given herself to him – and then he didn't even bother to stay until she woke up. _What does he think I am? Some sort of scarlet woman?_

And as though the poison of thought was eating away at her happiness, Ginny suddenly thought of Harry. His face appeared in her mind – his characteristic green eyes burned into her, judging her.

Truthfully enough, Ginny hadn't really thought of Harry in a long time. Even though he had abandoned her and hurt her, Ginny had thought that she still loved him. She'd never really given up on him, but all of that determination seemed to wash away when she was with Draco. Why had she suddenly forgotten about Harry?

Ginny felt like she'd betrayed him. She'd slept with the enemy – Harry's nemesis. Their feud was stronger even than that of the Weasleys and Malfoys – on the verge of mortal hatred, if she could put a name to it. Draco had done horrible things to Harry. Though she found it hard to believe now, she knew it was true, and vice versa.

Ginny groaned as she rolled out of bed and headed to the shower.

She showered quickly, and by the time that Ginny made her way downstairs, she noticed the icy touch of the floors and the chill in the air, and when she reached the bottom, it was clear right away why it was so cold.

The front door to the house stood wide open, letting in the cold bitter wind. Ginny could see little flakes of snow swirling around in the air outside.

Ginny froze in fear. What had happened? Suddenly wary for intruders, she stepped lightly toward the open door. She crossed the threshold and into the open air. The ground was lightly covered in snow, but no footsteps marred the front walk.

Ginny's heart stopped, before starting up again at a double pace. What did he mean by it? Had Draco left the door open on purpose? He'd wanted to leave, it seemed, so did he just walk out the front door? Did somebody let him out? Did he use _magic_?

Ginny hugged her arms around herself at the thought of what would likely occur if that did happen.

But did he leave so soon because of her?

Ginny frowned. Something just wasn't right.

Ginny felt oddly betrayed, not because he was gone, but because he had left her without saying anything. With the door to the house wide open, anyone would have been able to enter and hurt her. Draco knew that if he did magic, Death Eaters would trace him back to this house, where she thought she was safe. She found it difficult to think that he would willingly jeopardize her safety.

Had he just left her to figure things out for herself, then? Was she supposed to leave just like he had? She could apparate home, Ginny thought, the shock suddenly hitting her. She could apparate right off this doorstep right here and right now.

Ginny closed her eyes. She could do it. Right now. Apparate. After ten long seconds of waiting, Ginny sighed and opened her eyes.

(((KTF)))

"Were you there? Did you see him? Did you talk to him?" Draco was in Snape's house. It was the only place he could think of; the only man who would tell him anything.

"Yes, Draco, but-"

"You bastard, you could have helped him!" Draco closed his eyes and ran a hand through his already mussed up hair. He turned back to Snape, and spoke more calmly than he felt, "Was he going back to the Dark Lord?"

Snape, who was taller than Draco himself, watched the boy calmly. "I don't know."

_Fuck!_

Draco hit the brick wall and paced around the dark living room. Severus watched the boy carefully, assessing the situation.

"Draco, sit down."

"No, damn it!" He scowled and gripped his hands in his hair. "What the fuck am I supposed to do?"

"Sit down, and we'll discuss your options."

"No!" Draco yelled. "You don't understand! There are no options for me. None! My father is dead!" The truth reverberated through the silence, hitting him like a sledgehammer. When he continued, he spoke with an icy derision. "Voldemort has taken over my life. He has killed my father, held my mother prisoner, taken over my goddamn manor! He's brainwashed all my friends, killed anyone that's ever disobeyed him! He will kill me as soon as he knows where I am."

"I understand you're distressed, Draco, but - "

"Damn you, Severus." Draco advanced towards him. "Do you know what I did this morning? I went home! I even went in the grounds."

Snape narrowed his eyes. "What in Merlin's name were you thinking? You've never been thick, Draco. You know they have put endless charms on that place. It's a miracle you're not dead already."

"What do you know about it?" Draco snapped.

The two men glared at each other.

"I wanted to kill him," Draco stated. "I didn't care if he killed me. But then I realized he would kill my mother too. What am I supposed to do? I can't leave without her. I can't even get her out of there without getting killed."

"Draco, you're not the only one whose life is ruined by the Dark Lord. You can't do anything about that."

"So what?" Draco yelled. "You just want me to give up?"

"That's not what I said. But you're not helping that with those stupid stunts you've pulled today. Doing magic! Practically walking right up to the Dark Lord!"

"I've had enough!" Draco turned and stalked to the door. "I have to get out of here," he muttered hysterically.

"Where are you going?" Severus demanded. "The more magic you do, the easier it is for them to find you," he warned.

"Then let them find me!" Draco stalked out of the house, and into the yard, and disapparated with a pop, as his old potions teacher and confidant watched him from the door.

_Foolish boy. What the hell is he doing?_ Severus turned around and grabbed his heavy black cloak. He would have to go deal with this.

(((KTF)))

After a day of inner turmoil and trying to formulate a plan, Ginny sat down in front of the television and watched mindlessly while contemplating what to do. The six o'clock news turned on, and Ginny bleakly turned up the volume once again. A muggle stood in the television, talking loudly and gesticulating.

"Good evening, everyone, this is Stanley Bobbins, reporting live with the six o'clock news. There has been a dangerous fire in London early this morning, where no less than ten houses were burnt down. There were six reported fatalities, and many more injured – we'll have the exact number to tell you soon. Authorities have concluded it to be the work of a gang, as there was found to be the symbol of a skull with a serpent coming out of its mouth burnt black onto the front door of what seems to be the house where the fire originated…

_Voldemort's work,_ Ginny glowered at the television. _How could the muggles be so oblivious?_

"…there was a very dangerous bar fight in the Blue Moon down on Main Street not too long ago, and we'll show you a video of the scene shortly. A drunken customer began picking a fight with the bartender's brother, and another table of customers, causing quite a ruckus. The police were called down, but the man was gone before they got there. We have footage of the end of the fight. Let's just say that neither party got out unharmed…

"…Next, Stephen Hopkins and his two daughters, aged seven and five, are celebrating Christmas by ice skating… a great idea! Everyone, go pick up your ice skates, or rent a pair, and head to the pond for Christmas Eve tomorrow. There will be carollers, hot chocolate stands…"

Ginny hugged her knees to her chest and sighed. How could she have forgotten? Christmas Eve was tomorrow.

Ginny wondered what they were all doing – and who would be there to celebrate. Would she go back?

Draco had been gone for most of the day. What were the chances of him coming back at all? She felt a sinking feeling in her chest. He wouldn't come back. For all she knew, he was out of the country, safe and sound with his mum and dad.

Ginny felt her eyes well up with unshed tears as she thought of him. Why was she letting it make her so miserable?

What would happen if she did go home? Would she be sent back to school? Even though she hadn't been as safe as anyone had thought when they'd put her there the first time? Would they keep her locked in the house, unable to help anyone? Like Sirius had been three years ago? Would they even let her sit in on meetings?

_Mum will go mad when I see her. She'll want to coddle me and she'll want to kill Draco._

The surge of homesickness hit her suddenly. She felt the need to see her family – to be in _anyone's_ company, really. They were probably expecting her, anyway.

She'd go home later tonight, if she heard nothing.

Ginny curled up and turned her attention back to the news.

"... next, we'll be talking about the danger of bar fights, and what to do in those situations. Here is a short video, taken by a customer"-

Ginny, who had been staring at the newsman subconsciously, perked up the moment he showed the video.

She recognized him instantly, even from across the dark smoky room where the man with the video recorder had been sitting. The characteristic blonde hair could not have been anyone else, and she recognized his frame; the tall, lithe body, muscular though not bulky that loomed over the scene. The video showed the results of what seemed to be a violent fight. Draco seemed to be yelling at someone before turning around and walking out of the bar. Ginny winced as she caught a glimpse of his face. The video paused, and an unclear close up of his face was blown up on the screen as the news man informed the viewers where to report any sightings of him.

Ginny sat immobilized. That small glimpse of Draco brought along a strange mix of emotions and questions. Panic, for one, filled her lungs. Where was he now? Why had he been drinking, and fighting, in a muggle bar? Why wasn't he with his family? Why wasn't he out of the country?

Ginny could picture the bar in her mind. They had passed it at one point on the way to meet Arthur. Ginny knew she was crazy, but she jumped out of her seat, found a coat and hat, and walked out the door and into the cold, snowy night.

Something was not right, and Ginny was going to find out what it was.

(((KTF)))

Ginny pushed the door open and walked out of the blistering cold and into the warm glow of the bar. The door blew shut, and Ginny suddenly felt claustrophobic with the stuffy atmosphere and the row of inquisitive looks from the dark figures sitting all around. Soft jukebox music played in the background, and the sound of glasses clinking from behind the counter could be heard over the murmur of speech.

Ginny walked up to the bar and sat down tentatively on a stool. She eyed a sketchy looking man of about thirty with a dirty five o'clock shadow that sat two seats away. He had a scotch glass in his hand as he turned to her. "Can I buy you something, sweetheart?" he said, eyeing her up and down.

Ginny suppressed a shiver, and replied, "No." She turned away and tried to keep her eyes averted from the people around her.

"Um, excuse me." Ginny addressed the barman tentatively. He gave her a bored look, and raised an eyebrow.

"Yes."

"I'm looking for a man that was here…" Ginny started, unsure of how to proceed. She hadn't really thought this through, and now she felt kind of ridiculous. "He's tall, blonde, grey eyes, probably really drunk… aggressive."

Ginny cringed as she looked up at the harsh face of the barman shaking his head and giving her a look of disbelief. She gave him a nervous smile.

The barman paused in his cleaning and looked at her clearly. He narrowed his eyes. "That bloke who practically tore the place apart not two hours ago?" he scoffed, and scowled at her. "If you're friends with him, missus, I'm going to have to ask you to leave, or I'll call the cops."

"The cops?" Ginny scrounged through her brain for the word.

The barman mistook her confusion, sighed exasperatedly, and said, "They've been looking for him all day, been trying to find out who he is. I'm sure they'd love to have you in custody for questioning." He scowled at her and went back to his business.

"You don't mean… _death eaters_?" Ginny asked in a hushed whisper, confused as to why a muggle would know they were after him. "Do you?"

The barman looked at her like she was off her rocker, and said, "What the bloody hell are you on about?"

Ginny sighed in relief. "I just need to find him," Ginny explained, though she knew it was pointless from the glare she received.

"Well I can't help you there."

"But I" – Ginny was cut off by his sharp look, and got up, swearing. She shot him a dirty look. "Well thanks for nothing." She mumbled as she walked back out the door.

Disgruntled by the short visit, Ginny walked away quickly down a deserted street. _Where is he? _The wind had picked up, and it was snowing harder. Ginny stopped in the middle of the street, and shivered, tugging her hat further down on her ears. She took a deep breath, and felt the icy air fill her lungs.

Who was she kidding? She could hardly see twenty metres in front of her, how on earth would she find Draco in this weather? Ginny decided that she would go back to the house. For all she knew, he could have gone back too. Ginny shook her head. She knew it was wishful thinking.

"Miss! Hey Miss!"

Ginny jumped and looked behind her at the voice and saw the man from the bar that had wanted to buy her a drink. A jolt of fear went down her spine, and Ginny wished that she had her wand.

She started walking again, pretending not to hear him.

He followed her, calling out, "Miss!"

Ginny suddenly jumped as he grabbed her by the shoulder. When had he gotten so close?

"What?" she snapped at him, turning around.

"Well, I overheard you asking about that man who came in earlier." He said as his eyes raked up and down her form. _Creep,_ Ginny thought. She narrowed her eyes.

"Yeah, so?"

"You're just looking for him?" When he awaited her response, Ginny nodded. "I'll help you look then," he said with a sickly sweet tone that didn't fool her.

Ginny's inner conscience was telling her to run far, far away. "No, thank you." Ginny turned away from the man and started walking fast away from him.

Not ten seconds later, he was at her side.

"Is he your boyfriend?"

Ginny felt her cheeks go hot in her anger. "Leave me alone."

"Ah, defensive? You sleeping with him?"

Ginny made a noise of disbelief, looking around worriedly for an escape. How the hell was she going to get out of this?

"Get away from me," she said, while patting her pockets to see whether she had anything sharp on her. She was seriously starting to get worried. _Oh my god, I'm going to die._

"What are you doing with scum like that? There's no way a guy like that could satisfy a pretty girl like you."

He grabbed onto her arm. She wrenched it out of his grip, stopping.

"What the fuck do you want?"

Suddenly the man put his arm around her shoulders in a vice grip. "Nothing. I'm just to help you find him."

Trying to get out of his grasp, Ginny stammered, "Why on earth would you want to help me?"

Ginny's mind was going haywire. All she could think of was that she needed to get away from him.

With a flash of heart-racing impulse, Ginny suddenly stomped on his foot, and elbowed him as hard as she could in the stomach. It worked! His arm loosened, and she ran out from under him.

_I want to go somewhere safe, _Ginny thought, and she closed her eyes and apparated.

The uncomfortable feeling of apparition only lasted a moment, and the sound of the wind disappeared. Ginny opened her eyes experimentally. She was in an enclosed alley.

Ginny looked around quickly to make sure that the creepy man had gone.

She almost screamed when she saw him.

He was sitting down against a brick wall, with a bottle of firewhiskey in his hand beside him.

"Draco," Ginny breathed, and ran to him. "What are you doing here?"

He looked up at her belatedly, and his eyebrows rose, obviously surprised to see her there. "You're here," he stated suddenly. "How did you find me?" he narrowed his eyes, and got to his feet.

"I – well, I don't really know actually…" she trailed off into silence when she saw his face up close. His hair was a mess, and his face was smeared with blood. He had a cut in his brow, and another on his bottom lip. His eyes were dark, as though he'd been socked in both eyes, and one of his cheekbones was swollen. He also reeked of alcohol.

Ginny tried to stop herself from getting too upset. That would not help anything. She reached out to touch his face. "What happened to you, Draco? Why did you do this?"

Draco took her hand with his, pushed it down, and ignored her question. "Why are you here?" he asked, moving even closer to her.

"I saw you on that bloody television, and I was worried, so I went to the bar you were at, but no one could tell me where you went, and then this really scary man from the bar followed me, and wouldn't leave me alone, so I disapparated, and wound up here!" Ginny told him in one breath, trying to dismiss the topic. She tried to ask about him again, "But, what about - ?"

The question lingered unsaid in the air as Ginny was cut off by the look of anger on his face. It was scary, especially with his current appearance. Ginny froze when he looked at her, enraged.

Draco grabbed her by the shoulders. "What the hell were you thinking? Men like that are creeps, and rapists, and for Merlin's sake you don't even have your bloody wand! I didn't keep you safe all that time, just to have you killed or raped by a _muggle_, Weasley!"

"Well, that didn't seem to matter to you this morning, did it? You left me wandless and the door to the house was wide open. Anyone could have come in! And you'd obviously done magic to get out. I was afraid that some Death Eaters were going to come and kill me!" Ginny looked at him in disbelief. Why did he care now, when he so obviously didn't before? "Wait, what did you mean? …you were keeping me safe all that time?"

He turned away. "Forget it."

Ginny reached up to touch his shoulder, thinking that he was calmer now, but she recoiled when he turned around abruptly and faced her.

"Why the hell do you despise him so much, huh?" Draco yelled at Ginny, his eyes searching her for an answer.

Ginny stared up at Draco's angry face. She took a step back from him, and touched the cold brick wall. She could feel the cold rough surface through her jacket, and shivered, hugging her arms around her stomach, and warily watching the frosty puffs of air of his unsteady breathing.

Draco closed in on her with his hands on the wall on either side of her head, trapping her in. "Well?" he prompted, and he bent down slightly to her level so he could look as her directly. "Why the hell do you hate him so much?"

Draco's face was so close to hers that she could smell the alcohol on him. Ginny observed him closely. He was serious. She saw it in his eyes, the desperation, even past the drunkenness. He wanted a real answer.

Ginny knew exactly who he was referring to, but fear of him and of the subject took over. Ginny's eyes were glued to his and she stammered, "Hate who?"

Draco grasped Ginny's shoulders more tightly than he probably realised. His silver eyes bore into hers, pleading. "You know damn well who I'm talking about, Weasley." He told her, lowering his voice. "My father."

"Get off me," Ginny glared up at him. She struggled to push him off, but he refused to budge. "You're hurting me," she told him indignantly.

After a moment of recognition and realization, Draco looked at her blearily in surprise and he dropped his hands to his sides immediately, looking uncomfortable. It looked for a moment that he was trying to say something, but gave up and looked back at her expectantly.

"Do you really want to know what it is?" Ginny yelled, her voice echoing in the dark tunnel. Draco stared at her motionless. "Do you really want to know? Then fine! Your father is responsible for almost causing my death six years ago! Okay, Draco? Does that satisfy you? He slipped me that wretched diary of Tom Riddle's, and I was _possessed_ throughout the year. I made horrible things happen, you know. I would blank out for a few hours, and then I would come back to myself with chicken blood all over my hands and clothes. Tom Riddle wanted to kill me! He tried, and would have succeeded if not for Harry and Ron. A couple more hours and I would have been gone for good! And it's all Lucius Malfoy's fault."

"That was you?" Draco's face was emotionless. "With the chamber? You were doing those things?"

"No!" Ginny cried, wondering how this had gotten so out of control. Why was he making her go through this? Tears sprang to her eyes. "I was possessed by Voldemort, you prat! I didn't realise I was doing anything!" Ginny cut off, catching her ragged breath, and glaring through the tears at a spot on the ground about two metres away.

Draco suddenly softened. He looked sad all of the sudden, and defeated. He moved a step closer, and touched his hand to her hair. The motion made Ginny look up.

Ginny didn't know what he was thinking, but she was confused by the mask of emotion of his face. His eyes were pleading with her again.

"He's gone," he told her, his voice breaking. "He's dead."

It took Ginny a while to sink in the wretched, tortured tone and the tears in his eyes, but when she did, she understood his strange behaviour. She felt horrible.

"Draco, I'm so sorry," she told him, and brushed the wet hair off his face. His skin was freezing.

Ginny's heart broke for him. She wanted to comfort him, but she'd just made an arse out of herself. She didn't know what he was thinking.

Draco suddenly sobered up, and moved away from her, sticking out his wand before she even heard anything. Ginny was still staring at his wand, and jumped when she heard a voice say, "This must be loverboy then, yeah? Why'd you run away, honey, I was just trying to help."

Ginny gasped, and looked into the face of the same man she'd been trying to escape from. Ginny leaned into Draco, officially freaked out. How did he find them?

Draco moved her gently behind him with his arm, shielding her. Ginny whispered, "What are you doing? Be careful! This guy is just a muggle. A scary one, admittedly, but -"

"Ginny, be quiet," he whispered back, so the guy couldn't hear her. "He is not a muggle. And he followed you here. Probably put a tracking charm on you too."

Ginny looked at the man, who was staring at her smugly.

Draco took a bold step forward. "What the hell do you want?" he yelled, and Ginny wondered if he realised how loud he was being. "Come to get me then? You're no match for me. I'd advise you to leave, actually, because I have a lot of anger toward you lot."

Ginny looked into Draco's face to see what he was thinking, and was shocked by the look of maddening anger on his face. He was dead serious, she knew.

The man smirked and Ginny watched as he reached into his back pocket.

"So you heard the news, eh? Poor ol' Lucius finally got what he deserved?" he said in a taunting voice. "Like you will soon enough?"

Ginny gasped, and immediately covered her hands with her mouth. This man was a Death Eater? Fear trickled down her spine.

"If I ever go down, Lloyd, I'll take you with me, you bastard. I'll take the whole lot of you with me," Draco scowled dangerously, and readjusted his wand aim.

"Draco," Ginny whispered, stepping forward, and taking his free hand with both of hers. "Stop it. Are you trying to get us both killed?"

Draco took that moment to look at her, as though he just remembered she was there, but Ginny was too preoccupied with the supposed Death Eater to notice the confliction of his face. She watched as he pulled out his wand, but instead of aiming it at them, he proceeded to tug up his left sleeve, revealing the dark mark, and touched his wand into the center of it.

Draco suddenly yelled out in pain.

_Omigod!_

Thinking fast, Ginny held tightly onto him, and closed her eyes, concentrating on her destination. With a pop, they disapparated.

If she'd kept her eyes open a second longer, she would have seen the black figures appearing out of smoke.

The two figures appeared on the doorstep to the house. Ginny was in a daze. If they had been there just one more second, they would likely be dead. Ginny found herself being ushered inside by Draco. He locked the door, and stumbled inside the house, telling her not to worry because if the door was locked, no one can get in. He left her by the door.

After staring after him for about a minute, digesting all that happened, Ginny shoved off her coat and hat, threw them down, and went after him.

Draco had gone up to his room, and Ginny marched up the stairs and barged into his room without knocking. She immediately regretted doing so, as he was standing in the middle of the room with his shirt off, having just stripped off his wet clothes. Ginny watched him, completely at a loss for what to say.

Draco turned toward her, and watched her back. He shrugged and motioned for her to come inside.

Ginny made her way to his bed, and sat down on it. "Draco?" she asked. "Why did you do it?"

Draco sighed and sat down beside Ginny. "Which part?"

"Why did you… why did you leave me? And with the door open?"

"I don't know," Draco covered his eyes with the palms of his hands. "I was upset. My plan is in pieces and I'm going to die. It slipped my mind. I shouldn't have left you in danger like that."

"You're only going to die, if you keep acting as stupid as you did out there, Draco. You're going to get yourself killed. You're drunk out of your mind… did you really think you could take them all on? Well if you do, you're bloody mad. I don't want you to die, and _I_ certainly don't want to die," Ginny looked at him. "And I had somehow believed that you don't want me to die either, considering that you slept with me, but I guess I was mistaken. You were just taking advantage of the situation last night. I get it."

Draco looked so forlorn and ashamed, as he realised what she said.

"Of course I – of course I ca-" he cut off, looking more upset than before. "I didn't really-, I mean, I didn't really think about it. I figured that you would leave for sure within hours of-, It didn't really occur to me - ," Draco cut off and swore, burying his head in his hands.

Ginny continued, unable to hold in the feelings any longer. "You didn't expect to be back at all. It probably seemed like an easy thing to do at the time, didn't it? It's perfect, isn't it? Vulnerable girl, just basically admitted she fancied you, you'd never have to see her again."

"Stop it! Stop it Ginny," he pleaded. "I woke up this morning and I didn't want to leave you. It was just easier not saying goodbye. I shouldn't have just – look, I didn't want you in danger. I just…"

Draco shut his eyes tightly, seemingly unable to speak.

Ginny got up and went to the doorway of the room. She was about to storm out, but after a split second of inner dispute, Ginny sighed, and looked back. Was she being unreasonable? He had just lost his father. He was allowed to be reckless and inconsiderate. She should be helping him, not making it worse.

"What?" Draco asked her, narrowing his eyes. "Aren't you done?"

Ginny took a death breath and walked back into the room. She went straight to the bathroom and soaked a cloth in warm water.

Draco hadn't moved an inch, but as she approached, Ginny saw that he had tears in his eyes. She went to his side. "Draco, come on, let's get you in bed."

Ginny helped him get under the covers, and sat down on the edge of his bed. She started to wipe his brow, cleaning the blood away. "I'm sorry, Draco," she told him quietly. "I shouldn't have said any of that. I know that I would be really upset if my own father died. You're not a bad person, okay? I know you didn't mean to put me in danger."

"Yes I am."

"No, you're not." Ginny sighed as she put down the cloth after wiping a last bit of dried blood from his lip. "Look, Draco, get some sleep, okay? We'll talk tomorrow, when you're sober."

Ginny ran a hand over his hair, and stood up. Draco watched her, and grabbed her hand gently, before she could walk out of reach. Ginny looked down at him in question.

His eyes bore into hers, showing her his sadness, and vulnerability. He was silently asking her to stay.

Ginny hesitated for a moment, and then shook her head. She took her hand away and said, "Good night, Draco," before walking out the door.


	12. Chapter 12

Disclaimer: Harry Potter universe, characters, etc, belongs to JK Rowling, not me.

A/N: Okay, so this time it's about a month (I think) from my last update. I'd say that's an improvement. I did try you know. I've been studying like mad and am in the middle of exams now, so considering everything, I think I got this one up in a decent amount of time. I'm going home for the holidays next Wednesday, and I am so excited because there is like a foot and a half of snow back home:)

Anyway, I hope you like the chapter. It feels kind of dry to me… but that may be because it's practically one big conversation. Tell me what you think, and I'll write the next chapter to make up for it. Please, pretty please review! Reviews inspire me to write, so please do. Constructive criticism's always welcome too.

Keep the Faith

Chapter Twelve

Draco woke up late the next morning with a pounding headache. He moaned, and sat up, clutching his head, only to cringe at the pain in his ribs and the wave of nausea that flooded him.

He spent at least half an hour lying over the toilet.

When he felt the nausea pass, he stood up and looked at his reflection in the mirror. Draco stared at the bruises, the cuts, and the general mess of his appearance, and he realised that he couldn't remember how he'd ended up with the injuries.

Frustrated, Draco searched his memory, squinting his eyes as though it would be of help. _What the hell happened?_

He could remember drinking the bottle of firewhiskey, and everything that happened before it; he remembered the horrible reasons that he did it, and he remembered walking into that muggle bar. Is that where he got this?

Draco touched his eye gently, and cringed.

And he remembered Ginny – he had a blurry recollection of her in some dark street, and back at the house, but he couldn't remember anything more than that.

_But she couldn't have been there_, Draco told himself. _H__ad that just been a dream? _

He ran a hand through his hair, and splashed some water on his face, and grabbed for the toothbrush.

After brushing his teeth, Draco made his way down to the kitchen carefully, wondering what he could do to get rid of the damn hangover.

Draco went to the fridge and poured himself a glass of water, drinking it down to the last drop. It didn't help. He put down the glass, and leaned against the counter, defeated.

His thoughts turned to his father, and the grief overcame him for the first time.

Up to now, Draco hadn't really been lamenting over his father's death, he'd really just been upset over his own life being condemned by his father's actions. Draco knew he wasn't as affected as he should be. And his thought process had only been selfish. That was why he drank so much – he just wanted to feel something. Anything.

But now that he thought about it directly, he felt shaken. His own blood, his _father_ was dead; murdered.

And he would never see him again.

Draco suddenly felt sick again, and he took in a deep, shaky breath.

_Thud_!

Draco jumped up at the sound, and seconds later, Ginny walked into the room.

She was wearing a pair of green pyjama bottoms and a white t-shirt, and her hair tumbled down her back. Her eyes looked tired, though, and Draco wondered again what happened last night. And as he was thinking it, the image of Ginny's heated face invaded his mind.

_  
Your father is responsible for almost c__ausing my death … wretched __diar__y__ … __possessed__ throughout the year… __would come back to myself with chicken blood all over my hands and clothes … _

He could hear the words as though from a dream. Just sections, but it stimulated his memory – the chamber of secrets, his father… and Ginny.

Ginny looked at Draco strangely, but she said nothing, and rubbed her shoulder subconsciously.

_  
You're hurting me._

Draco closed his eyes and the fragments of memories came back to him. He got a flash of Ginny's face glaring up at him, hurt and angry. _Oh god, what the hell did I do?_

Draco wanted to ask her exactly that, but the feeling of sickness he got from the knowledge that he hurt her was stopping him. It was one thing when before he used to try and scare her with force, as he never _really_ hurt her, but when he was drunk – that was a different story. He knew his own strength, and if he lost control, he could do damage to someone like her.

Ginny got a glass of orange juice from the fridge, and sat down with it at the table. She turned her chair to face Draco.

Draco watched her silently, but he was sure that his emotions were on display – the shame, the regret, the sadness and self-hatred that he was feeling presently. Ginny's pitiful look and the small tilt of her head told him he was right. Funny thing was, he didn't care. Draco looked away.

"Are you okay?" Ginny asked suddenly.

Draco looked at her, and raised an eyebrow. "Just perfect," he replied sarcastically. _My father is dead, I'm as good as dead, I have a major hangover, I can't remember what the hell I even did, and I probably hurt you_he thought.

"Okay, that was a dumb thing to ask," Ginny admitted, looking worried. "Look, Draco, I'm sorry again for what I said to you last night."

Draco stared at her in confusion.He opened his mouth to ask her what she meant, but the sincerity and beauty of Ginny's bright eyes stopped him in his tracks.

His head was muddled, and he could hardly think straight. What was going on? Shouldn't he be the one apologizing? Draco opened his mouth again to speak after a while, but Ginny spoke first, changing the topic.

"Draco, have you thought about what you're going to do?"

Draco looked at her, still thinking belatedly so it took him a moment to pay attention.

"What?" he asked confused.

"Have you gone through your options? Of where you can go, or what you can do," she added.

The reality hit him like a brick, as his thoughts turned to his current situation. His body felt cold, and he didn't want to think about it.

"What options, Weasley?" Draco looked away from her. "I have none."

Ginny stood up and walked over to him.

"That's not true," she argued. "I know that you're distressed, but you really have to decide on something, and soon. Eventually, since the death eaters know where you are, they will figure out how to get in, and get past the enchantments that you put on the house. I'm not unintelligent, you know. I know how that all works. You're not safe here forever, and the sooner we get you out of here, the better. Do you have any ideas?"

"No," Draco admitted reluctantly. That was his problem.

"Well, what about leaving the country with your mum? Or even on your own if it comes to it?" Ginny suggested hesitantly.

"I can't," he told her after a minute.

Ginny looked up at him with something strangely resembling hope. "Why not?"

Draco sighed. He didn't really want to talk about this.

"Because," he started, "I was counting on father. I don't bloody know anything about muggles. I can't stand them, you know that. We would have been together as a family at least."

Draco paused, feeling the grief of the situation threaten to overwhelm him. He looked down and continued, "Mother would never go along with it now. She would have if Lucius wanted to convince her, but she feels as though she's obliged to keep the house. She'll be in hell if it was just us. And so would I."

"You're mum loves you, Draco. She would do whatever was best for you, any parent would."

He shook his head. "You really live in an isolated paradise, don't you?"

Ginny looked down.

Draco scoffed and turned away.

They both stood there, feeling awkward with the tense atmosphere.

After what seemed like minutes, Ginny whispered, "Come home with me."

Draco snapped his grey eyes to hers, too speechless to respond. He opened his mouth to talk, and closed it again, looking into her eyes, trying to decipher if she was serious.

"Did I…? Did you just suggest…?" he stammered.

"Come home with me," Ginny repeated, but a little more enthusiastically this time, intending it to sound more inviting than she knew he would think.

Ginny watched Draco's blank look, as he processed what exactly she had just said.

"Come… home with you?" Draco repeated, a look of horror crossing his features. "You mean, suffer the wrath of your family? Your father who hates me and six brothers that probably want to hex me into oblivion?"

"Well, yes," Ginny started, clearly amused. She shushed him as he opened his mouth to speak. "But my dad trusts me, and there would only be a couple of my brothers around at a time. Besides, members of the order are around often. We're where the headquarters are. You'll be safe."

"People like who?" Draco asked sceptically.

"Well, Lupin and Tonks, Moody, McGonagall, Kinglsey…"

"You mean trained Aurors, and fully trained witches and wizards that will also kill me? How is that safer than your family? I wouldn't even have my wand for protection." Draco asked her incredulously. "I'm not a masochist, Ginny, there's no way."

"_Could_ kill you," she corrected, and quickly added, "But they won't."

"I used to torment Lupin that year in school..."

"Remus is practically the most sensible, laid-back wizard I know. He's not going to have a grudge against you," Ginny countered.

"Well, McGonagall's always hated me…"

"Do you honestly think she would hurt you? She may be a strict teacher, but really…" Draco ignored her.

"And Mad-Eye Moody is bloody mad – he'd probably curse me if I so much as look him."

"Okay, well, _that_ one may actually be true," Ginny admitted, shrugging her shoulder.

"See? And Andromeda's family's been ostracized by us since before I was born. You can't tell me she won't hold a grudge. And she's an Auror too, who knows what she would do to me?"

Ginny laughed at the exasperated expression on Draco's face. "Actually, I think you'd get along quite well. She's a lot of fun."

At Draco blatant disbelief, Ginny relented and tried to reason with him. "Well, for most of them, you might have to actually make an effort to get them to like you, but they won't hurt you unless you purposely anger them."

Draco stared at her, not even sure how to respond to that. Did she really want him to?

"You're talking about going against my own nature and collaborating with the enemy," he blurted out. "Living with the people that I've been brought up to hate!"

"I thought Voldemort was your enemy now," Ginny countered. "And we're both against him, so you're on our side, whether you like it or not. Besides," Ginny took a stop closer to Draco. "You don't hate me, do you?"

Draco's eye bore into hers, and Ginny gazed back, the question in her eyes. He reached a hand up to her hair, letting the red tresses slip between his fingers. "Of course I don't hate you. Don't _ever_ think that, okay?"

Ginny smiled lightly, and continued, "See? It's not so bad. If there's any place safer for you than here, it's my house. It's protected by endless spells. I know that you have a lot of pride and you'll probably hate being helped by us… but seriously, Draco, your other option, unless I'm missing something, is death! And it's not even as though you'll have to help the order or anything – that's up to you. You can just stay there and be safe. The order can probably help with your mum, too."

Draco remembered Arthur Weasley's apparent concern for his mother. Would they really help _him_ of all people? It seemed crazy, but deep down he wondered if it were true.

"Ginny," Draco pushed away from the counter, and looked at her properly. "You're the kind of person that everybody cares for, everyone wants to protect. They all know that I kidnapped you. They know what I've done. Nobody will want to help me."

She met his eyes, and shook her head. "You don't know that. Besides, my mum would protect you. She's like that – wants to be a mum to everybody."

At Draco's look of uncertain horror, Ginny chuckled, and the sight of it brought a slight curve of a smile from his own lips. "And _I_ wouldn't let them do anything to you," she added, looking up at him with twinkling eyes.

Draco had the sudden urge to kiss her, but he resisted, and the guilt returned. He still didn't even know what happened between them the night before.

"Look," he told her quietly, looking down into her eyes, wanting to explain, but not knowing how. "I can't."

"Just think about it, okay?"

Draco didn't answer, and stood silent. After what seemed like a long time, he looked at her and asked, "What exactly were you apologising for earlier?"

Ginny took a step back, and raised an eyebrow.

"You don't remember?" she asked, bemused.

Draco shook his head, somewhat embarassed.

"Do you remember anything from last night?" Ginny watched him strangely.

Draco frowned and stuck his hands in his pockets. "Parts of it."

"Okay," Ginny breathed, before gathering her thoughts with a frown. "Well, just to catch you up," she began, "you got really drunk, decided to go start a fight in a muggle bar, which is where you got these," Ginny touched his bruised cheekbone and he winced, glaring at her.

"Did you have to do that?"

Ginny wrinkled her nose at him playfully. "No, but it wasn't that hard."

"Just go on," Draco relented, watching her, trying to gauge her reactions. Was she angry at him?

Ginny continued, "I saw you on the television, and went to go find you, but then a death eater came, and you almost got us both killed."

"Oh, right," Draco frowned at her words. He still couldn't remember. "Sorry," he offered. It was strange, because he couldn't even picture what he was sorry for; he just knew that he was sorry.

Ginny rolled her eyes. "And then we got back, and I sort of blew up at you for acting so recklessly, and for, you know, what happened before. That's what I was apologising for. I felt bad for making you so upset when you were already so upset by your father." Ginny crossed her arms. "But I suppose that was pointless because you don't even remember," she added bitterly to herself.

Draco frowned at her tone, and rubbed the back of his neck, saying. "Ginny, I'm sorry for whatever I did to you last night. I wasn't in my right mind."

Ginny sighed, and shook her head. "I know." She paused and then looked back at him. "But I still think we need to talk about what happened between us."

Draco grimaced. Nothing good could come of this, he knew. He wondered what she would say. Was she going to hate him? Was there even a chance that she still wanted him? He _had_ been so hideously horrible to her last night.

"What about it?"

"Do you always bed women that fast?"

Draco blinked. _Merlin, that was blunt_. "No," he responded, quite unsure what was happening.

"Then why me?" Ginny looked nervous, but Draco could see the distrust beneath. He lowered his eyebrows and narrowed his eyes.

"It seemed like the thing to do," he answered truthfully.

"That's it?" Ginny asked, the betrayal showing on her face.

Draco fisted a hand in his blonde hair. Why did he feel like he was digging himself into a hole? He turned on her, stepping toward her as he talked.

"Yes! It was an impulsive, in the moment decision. And I'm not the only one to blame. You sure weren't stopping me."

Draco was close enough that she could touch him again. Ginny looked down, a blush creeping up her neck. "It was a mistake."

Draco had expected this, he realised. After the way he'd acted toward her, she was finally coming to her senses. And he didn't want her to.

"Was it?" he implored quietly, wondering why it hurt when she said it.

"I don't know what I was thinking. I was emotional, and upset."

Something occurred to him. "Are you accusing me of taking advantage of you?" He asked, surprised.

"Weren't you?"

"No! Well, not intentionally." Draco searched Ginny's eyes. "I was just as out of my mind as you were. You can't say that it wasn't completely consensual. I gave you a choice, do you remember? It would have killed me to stop, but I would have stopped for you."

"Okay, yes." Ginny looked down. Her face was flushed, as she fumbled with her words. "You're right, but –"

Draco put his hands on her shoulders, making sure she looked at him. "But what, Ginny?" he asked her quietly.

"I'm just saying that it was a mistake."

He dropped his hands.

Draco began to feel annoyed. His cheeks went pink with chagrin. "That's the second time you've said that."

"Yes, but it doesn't mean" –

"Look," he began angrily, "What do you want from me? An apology?"

"No," she muttered.

"Okay, so you're telling me that you're never going to let it happen again?" He said testily, his posture and his tone getting more and more tense.

"No! That's not what I'm saying." Ginny looked down, and hugged her arms around herself.

Draco raised an eyebrow in scepticism, "Weasley, you're not making any sense. What is it you want? Is it because you hate me again?" He hoped that wasn't it.

"No! I don't know what I want! It was irrational and stupid of us to… I mean, there was a good chance that we never would have seen each other again!"

"Maybe it was irrational and a stupid thing to do," Draco stared her down as he spoke heatedly, "but it happened! You can't just ignore it. Or is that what you want? To forget it?" He felt his cheeks heat up.

"No. Yes, maybe." Ginny looked at him worriedly, biting her lip, as she saw that she must have hurt his pride. He looked away.

"Fine. Consider it forgotten." His icy tone cut her, and her voice cracked as she went on.

"Draco, I just – I don't want you to think I'm easy!" She cried, wanting, needing him to listen. "It was…amazing, but" –

"If it was so amazing, why do you want to forget it?" Draco's voice drifted down to her. Ginny looked up at him. Was it her imagination, or was there a tone of hurt behind his words?

Ginny seemed at a loss for words and she opened her mouth to speak, and closed it again.

Draco continued, "Fine, I get it. I know I did everything wrong. I shouldn't have left you. I shouldn't have done whatever the hell I did to you last night. I am sorry. If that's why you're upset with me, then fine, I get it. I deserve it."

Draco closed his eyes, and turned away from her.

"Not that this conversation hasn't been fun, or great for my ego, but I am bloody hungover and I don't think I can take any more yelling right now," he told quietly, giving her one more look before he walked past her, leaving the room.

Ginny watched him leave, feeling utterly horrible.

"That's not what I meant," she said to herself, watching the spot where he'd left.


	13. Chapter 13

A/N: Hey everyone. I'm really truly sorry for how long it's taken me to get this chapter finished. I won't give excuses except say that it was not an easy half-year for me. Don't hate me I can tell you I have no plans whatsoever of stopping writing this until it's complete, so please stick with me if you like it. I don't really know why, but this chapter was incredibly hard to finish. I think I went through like five different versions, so I hope you like this one! ;) And please review, I like criticism.

Keep the Faith

Chapter Thirteen

That night she dreamed.

_Gin, I hope you know I would die for you._

_Words that she had once imagined to fill her with pleasure, she hadn't expected it to feel so wrong._

_A warm body and strong arms enveloped her. But something didn't feel right. Suddenly she was cold, and without a clear reason, she pushed the body away from her. _

_He looked down at her in confusion in his spectacled green eyes. Ginny heard her own voice saying, Don't say that Harry, as the image of him faded away. _

_The green of his eyes turned into the dull green of the fall grounds at Hogwarts._

_She was suddenly alone in the courtyard as she had been not a few weeks ago. The wind was blowing, the sky was blue, and she stood, looking ahead of her out at the lake. She knew he was behind her, wearing a cloak that covered his face from the sun. He was twirling her wand around in his fingers, just as before. _

_Draco, she whispered. _

_And suddenly he was right behind her; full of vitality, as he snaked one arm around her waist, resting his hand on her stomach, as he slid her wand into the pocket of her cloak. His face nuzzled her neck, and suddenly she felt warm, safe. She leaned back against him and closed her eyes. _

_Ginny, run! _

_Ginny opened her eyes to the feeling of panic and the dark corridor. She was running. Running down the cold stone hallway, but she wasn't alone. Someone was running with her, in her peripheral vision. Someone with long blonde hair. Yells and curses followed behind them. Rounding a corner, Ginny's foot caught on a stone, and she let out a yell as she fell–_

Ginny awoke with a start. The echo of the scream resonated in her mind, and she wondered briefly if she'd been yelling in her sleep. Taking in a deep breath she sat up in bed and hugged her legs to her body.

Why did she feel so unsettled? She could still see Harry in her mind, feel the fear of being chased, and she could remember Draco's embrace as though he were really there.

_It was just a dream, right? But that part about Harry, it's true, isn't it? I need to let him go – no, _she realised, _ I've already let him go. _

The clock on the nightstand said it was 11:40, approaching midnight. Twenty more minutes and it was Christmas.

Ginny sighed. This would be her first Christmas without any of her family. What was her mum thinking right now? Were they okay? She wondered whether or not Ron would even bother drop by to say hello to her family.

For the first time in ages, she really missed them. Of course, she missed them all the time, but Ginny felt a sudden surge of homesickness.

And what about Draco? Ginny wondered. Was he missing Christmas with his own family? What was he even thinking, now that his father was gone and he didn't believe his mother even loved him.

Was he still angry with her? Most likely he was.

Ginny found herself once again frustrated with her previous actions. Although just thinking of him had her heart racing, it hadn't exactly been the right time to bring up the fact that she regretted giving herself to him so fast.

Deciding that her mind was too awake now to go back to sleep, Ginny lifted the bed covers and stood up. She went over to her closet and pulled out a big oversized sweater. She tugged it over her head as she left the room.

Ginny muffled a yawn as she walked down the stairs to the kitchen. She filled the kettle and plugged it in.

Peering into a cupboard, she found what she was looking for, and reached up to grab the can of cocoa. She reached into the next cupboard over, took a big round mug and set them both down.

Ginny leaned against the counter as she waited for the water to boil. After her first year, she would often have nightmares, waking up in the middle of the night after reliving the worst experiences of her life. She'd never been able to get back to sleep. During the summer, and even during Christmas breaks, Ginny had gotten into the habit of making herself a hot cup of tea or cocoa depending on her mood. It usually calmed her down, and she was able to sleep afterwards. After that first year or so the nightmares had left her, but whenever she couldn't sleep, she continued the tradition. It was a habit she still had, admittedly, but she didn't have an invisible cloak like Harry's, so she'd never been able to sneak out to the kitchens at night when she was at Hogwarts.

The whistling of the kettle told her the water was boiling and ready; she mixed together the cocoa and water and sat down at the table.

Ginny drank, holding the mug in her sleeve-covered hands to protect from the heat, and mulled over her feelings. What should she say to Draco in the morning? Was he back to hating her? It pained her to think it; after all, they'd only slept together once and had no romantic relationship before that. Ginny put her face in her hands, and moaned, unwilling to believe that it meant nothing to him.

There was one thing she knew; she wanted him so much it made her heart ache, and honestly, she didn't know why. Of course, the passion they had had that night was likely part of the reason, but Ginny knew that she was unreasonably attracted to him – not only his looks, but to _him_.

Ginny sipped the hot chocolate, relieved by the warm comfort it provided to her in the cold house.

_I really should sort things out_, Ginny thought, biting a nail absentmindedly.

Putting the near-empty mug down, Ginny decided to go back to her room.

Near the top of the stairs, she heard a noise and noticed a dim flickering light coming from the library. Ginny crept silently to the doorway.

She felt her heart thump when she saw Draco sitting on the floor and staring into the crackling fire. He looked so lost, so lonely. Ginny leaned against the doorframe and watched him. He had a blanket over his shoulders. He looked almost like a child, looking forlorn, his hair unkempt and his posture rounded. Ginny felt sad as she realised that he probably didn't want to see her. She sighed and turned to leave.

"Wait."

The sound of his voice stopped her in her tracks. Ginny tensed up in reaction and closed her eyes, taking in a breath. She turned around hesitantly, watching for his reaction.

Draco's eyes were dark as he followed the curve of her body up to her face, but when his eyes caught hers, Ginny saw a dullness in them that unsettled her.

To her surprise, he lifted up his arm in silent invitation to join him under the blanket. Ginny could not look away from his impenetrable eyes, trying to read them.

It was a peace offering.

Feeling rather awkward, she approached Draco and sat down beside him giving him a shy smile as she did. He adjusted the blanket comfortably so that it covered them both. His arm lingered on her shoulder before he brought it down to his side.

The fire crackled and the emanating warmth enveloped her in a sense of calm. It was just like winter nights at home, she thought, when they spent the evening by the fire.

If there was one thing that Ginny was known for, it was her ease and boldness in tough or tense situations. Life had taught her through the shyness. So feeling it was the right thing to do, she leaned her head comfortably against his shoulder. It was her own peace offering. Draco needed comfort, not excuses from her.

Draco tensed up, surprised at the contact, but his muscles relaxed because he was oddly comforted by her presence. It didn't even matter that he was seriously irritated and confused by her mixed signals. Just knowing she was still there brought him ever so slightly out of the depression in which he'd been drowning for the past few hours.

Ginny gathered her resolve, told herself that she was just being silly, but she couldn't find the words to say anything she wanted to. Instead, she opted for the easiest thing to say.

"What are you thinking about?" Ginny asked, her voice floating softly over the crackle of fire.

Draco could have groaned. He knew the answer was that he was thinking about her – it was hard not to – but Draco closed his eyes and forced his mind on other things; things that had been on his mind all day.

"My father," Draco admitted morosely. With a cautious glance at Ginny, he added, "I'm sorry he tried to hurt you."

Ginny felt her body tense up, as it always did when the subject arose. She took a moment to control the automatic fear that overwhelmed her with the memory, and oddly enough, she took comfort in Draco's touch at that moment. "It's not your fault," Ginny responded truthfully.

After a moment, Ginny blinked and sat up and looked over at him. "Wait a minute… You remember then?"

Draco heard the accusing tone in her voice. He could practically taste her anxiety. He nodded. "It's been coming back to me. It shouldn't have happened to you."

Ginny thought about that in silence, and Draco fell into silence with her. What would her life be right now if that hadn't happened, he wondered. Would she be happier?

"I feel like an idiot for ever believing in him," Draco broke the silence again. He found it hard to speak; he was making himself vulnerable, and it meant facing the truth, but nevertheless, Ginny's presence once again propelled him. She was the first person he'd ever felt compelled to be open with, and if there was ever a time he felt he _needed_ to just talk, it was now.

Ginny lifted her head off of his shoulder, giving him the space to think. "You're not an idiot," she said quietly, but his brow descended in contemplation.

"I never realised what he was like; I mean there was always some doubt in my mind, but… I trusted him." Draco gripped a hand in his hair in frustration. "I idolised him," Draco continued. "My whole life has been about gaining my father's approval. I'd never be good enough for him, and he'd let me know it. I wanted to be like him, so I bragged about the dark arts. Don't get me wrong," he added, casting a sideways glance at Ginny. "I was fascinated by the dark arts. I still am."

Ginny pursed her lips but stayed silent. She reminded herself that she wanted to keep her mouth shut and let him talk.

"When Voldemort returned, I'll admit I was scared. I wanted to be a part of it in theory, but I wasn't prepared for the reality of it, of his ruthlessness and he prospect of death at any minute."

"Are you talking about the task he gave you to kill Dumbledore?"

Draco nodded, looking at her and seeing the empathy in her eyes. _How could she even begin to understand what it's like?_ Draco narrowed his eyes. "That among other things. It's a tough world, being a death eater. There wasn't a moment afterward where I wasn't convinced I was going to die. I tried anyway so he wouldn't kill my mother as well." Draco frowned and shook his head. "I've always sort of wondered whether Lucius was punished with being kept in Azkaban because I failed, or if I was meant to die as Lucius' punishment for screwing up with the prophecy."

Ginny was quiet and mulled over the sadness of the whole situation, but lacking tact and subtlety, which often happened to her, the only thing she could think to say was, "We put him in Azkaban, actually."

Draco shot her a look. "Maybe the Ministry or the Order put him there," he explained, "but Voldemort held him there. He has control over Azkaban and if he wanted my father out he would have been released in a fortnight."

It surprised her that he was so emotionless over the whole matter. She supposed that was his way of coping, hiding his feelings.

In truth, Draco wished he could be more upset. It was as thought he were numb inside. It was different than just hiding his feelings away like he was used to. Now it was as though he couldn't even access the feelings of sorrow that he knew were in there.

Talking to Ginny, however, had brought out the bitterness in him and Draco scowled. If he couldn't be sad, at least he could be angry; that was better than nothing. "He must have been loyal to the dark lord all that time, even when he was in Azkaban. You'd think family would matter more to him, but apparently not," he muttered angrily.

Ginny watched him sadly, wanting to comfort him but not knowing how. On par with the effect of his father being murdered, she knew Draco felt deeply betrayed.

"Why else would he have gone back to him?" Draco demanded, searching Ginny's eyes for an answer he knew he would not find.

Ginny sighed and hugged her knees up to her chest. It was hard to be objective, but she tried to put away her own feelings for the moment. She had to make him see the logic she saw. "You don't know that," she said forcefully, and her brown eyes captured his with their intensity.

"I don't know what?" Draco narrowed his eyes the tiniest bit, taken aback at her tone.

"You don't know that he went back to Voldemort. I don't think you should just assume that. I know you think I've just had a _sheltered life, _or whatever, but just trust me. He is your father, and your family, and you should believe that he tried his best for you and your mum. Lucius might have been a horrible person to others, but family is always different. As hard as this is for me to say, I don't believe that he would condemn both his wife and son to death."

Draco was silent as he looked into the flames. He wanted to believe that it was all just bad luck that Lucius was found and murdered, he really did, but for some reason, it was so much easier to believe the opposite.

"And what if he did go back to him?" Draco asked after a minute, his tone defensive.

"Well what if he didn't?" Ginny countered impetuously. "Wouldn't you feel terrible if you thought he betrayed you for Voldemort when he might have actually died trying to help you?"

Draco shook his head, running his hands through his already dishevelled hair. "I don't know," he said wearily, "I don't know what to think anymore."

"Look," Ginny said quietly, "Right now you're upset and you have reason to be, but you're not thinking rationally. All I'm saying is don't commit yourself until you know the truth."

Draco narrowed his eyes, wondering if that was an insult. He sighed, grudgingly wondering if she was right.

And then, as he was mulling over what she'd said, Draco noticed that Ginny was rubbing her left shoulder. A wave of guilt crested in him all of the sudden, and his anger mellowed into defeat. His thoughts turned from his father to the redhead beside him. It sickened him, the thought that he was the cause of her pain.

Before he could control himself, Draco put his hand over hers, stopping the motion.

Ginny looked down at his hand, then up at his face, surprised. She hadn't even realised what she was doing.

She let Draco manipulate her hand in his as he laced his fingers in hers and pulled it away from her.

"Are you okay?" Draco asked quietly, looking up at her with clear eyes.

Ginny's eyes rose up to his, but she quickly looked away. She felt odd from the concern in his eyes.

"You didn't hurt me," Ginny said. "I'm fine."

"Show me," Draco ordered briskly.

"I'm_ fine_," she repeated indignantly. "I'm made of tougher stuff than that for you to hurt me." Ginny tried to pull away her hand in defiance, but Draco chuckled and purposely tightened his grip.

"And don't I know it," he muttered to himself. Draco raised an eyebrow. "Show me or I'll show myself."

Ginny glared at the threat, wondering if he would actually try. She wrenched her hand away from his finally, and lifted the sweater over her head, exposing the thin tank top she was wearing underneath.

Draco swallowed, trying to ignore the sudden hit of desire he felt in the base of his spine. His hand traced the faint bruise on one lightly freckled shoulder, causing Ginny to shiver at the sensation, even though she was hot from the fire.

"Damn it," Draco cursed himself, the dreaded feeling of remorse filling him. "I – " He wanted to tell her he was sorry, but the words caught in his throat. As soon as he thought it, he knew it was desperately true and he wanted – needed – her forgiveness, and that thought disturbed him.

He looked at Ginny, slightly unsettled, and pulled his wand from his pocket – he'd been holding onto it just in case anything happened. The Death Eaters did know where he was after all.

Ginny was brought back to the present as Draco touched his wand to her skin on one shoulder, then the other. Looking down, she saw that the bruises were gone.

"Better?" Draco asked, running a hand over the smooth lightly freckled skin of her shoulder.

Ginny closed her eyes at his touch, reminded of the same drugged feeling she'd felt before with him.

"Mm hm."

Draco watched her, and swallowed nervously at her reaction to his touch. No one had ever turned him on the way she could with no more than a sigh.

However, his desire was quickly replaced by frustration. She could have gotten hurt a lot more than anything he would do to her. He was suddenly angry with her.

"You know," Draco said dangerously, changing the direction of the conversation abruptly. "For someone so strong and intelligent, I didn't expect you to be lacking in common sense."

Ginny frowned, surprised at the sudden attack. Her brown eyes questioned him, accused him. "What are you talking about?"

"You shouldn't have come after me," he told her angrily. "You're too reckless."

The effect he'd had on her gone, she narrowed her eyes. "Am I? Well if I'm reckless, then what are you, suicidal?" Ginny retorted, crossing her arms.

Draco mimicked her expression and leaned toward her. "Maybe, but I have reason to be. What you did just wasn't smart."

Ginny glared, the Weasley temper was flaring up, but she restrained herself, wondering what his game was. "Fine then, explain."

"Going after me without a wand, you could have been killed. Death Eaters are after you everywhere, and if they found you, knowing who you are, I – I don't –" Draco paused to gather his resolve, realizing once again that he was baring his soul to her. He decided that he was already in too deep to back out again. He took a steadying breath. "Look, I don't want you hurt. I never thought I could be so afraid to lose you, but I am."

Ginny's heart softened at the words. She didn't know what to say, and just searched his eyes. The liquid emotion in them told her that he was telling the truth.

"Ginny." Draco touched her face, moving his fingers across her cheek, on her lips, the line of her jaw. "I'm going to give you a piece of advice," he told her uncertainly.

In the midst of the pleasure of his touch, Ginny frowned, but she nodded. "Okay," she said, but her tone was defensive.

"You can't be so reckless if you want your family to trust you to fight against Voldemort."

The shock at his calm words registered on her face for a fraction of a second, but although he dreaded what would come next, he watched her reaction. She needed to know, or she would end up getting herself killed in this war, something that scared him more than he wanted to admit.

"I was upset! I was worried and angry at you! And _you_ hid my wand," Ginny defended herself, crossing her arms over her chest.

The defensive gesture had Draco stopping a smirk. He continued, keeping his voice calm, "I know that, but it doesn't change the danger you were in."

"Hmph." She looked away from him, a scowl on her pretty face. Her indignation had Draco frustrated with her resistance.

"Stop comparing yourself to me, damn it," Draco growled, "I've admitted that I was reckless, but so were you, and I don't know how you can think you can be so useful in this war if you're going to be so careless. You have to be smarter than that. I usually am, and I know how to be – I was raised to be."

"You know, Draco," Ginny scoffed at him, "I appreciate your concern, but I have to tell you, I wish you would stop insulting my intellect."

Draco rolled his eyes. "Ginny, I'm being serious, not insulting. Don't –" he cut her off before she could speak, "I am bloody serious. Promise me you will be more careful, or I can't support you risking your life like you want to."

"Who said I needed your support?" Ginny looked at him, hurt. There was a moment of silence as they looked at each other.

"You would rather be on your own, would you?"

Though there was a twinge of sarcasm that coated his words, Ginny knew he was right. Caught in a state of irritation and gratitude, she realised she didn't want to be on her own. Her whole family, even Harry and Hermione wouldn't approve of her fighting. But in any case, what would his support even matter since he didn't want to be there with her? From now on, Ginny thought sadly, she would be more careful and she would have been if she'd known there was a Death Eater involved. She'd have to be more vigilant and not let her emotions for Draco blind her.

"Just promise me, please," he asked, his eyes searching her face. It didn't even bother him that he was begging. He just needed to know that she would at least try to be safe, especially if he wasn't always going to be there to protect her. "Please, Ginny," Draco pleaded.

Ginny could see the raw and rare emotion in his eyes. She felt tears well up in her own. "I promise," she whispered sadly.

Her gaze dropped to his lips and on an impulse, she put her hands on either side of his face, and pulled his lips down against hers in a soft kiss. She wanted to memorize his taste in the case that she wouldn't have the chance again.

Draco responded lightly, slightly shell-shocked at the sudden gesture. He was left with nothing but a sense of deep longing as she took her sweet lips away from him.

When he opened his eyes, he was shocked to see that there were tears running down her face. Draco felt his heart contract and reached up to brush a hand over her cheek. "Are you crying?" he asked gently.

"No," Ginny denied childishly, wiping the wetness from her cheeks and giving Draco an unconvincing smile. She felt foolish. "I'm exhausted. I think I'll go to bed." And with that, Ginny pulled herself up to leave.

Draco watched her for a moment, confused and concerned, before going after her. Normally when girls came crying to him, he just rolled his eyes and patted their backs, but right now her tears were unsettling to him. He caught her hand at the door, turning her around to face him.

He looked in her eyes and at the disguised hurt and sadness he saw in them. Brushing a hair from her face, Draco impulsively leaned down until his lips were a breadth from hers. He could feel her shaky breath and the tremble in her hand. He moved in to brush his lips against hers in a tentative kiss. When she didn't back away, his hands went up to her face, and he increased the pressure.

Ginny's hands went up to grab in his shirt for support, and she responded belatedly to the movement of his lips on hers.

A hand moved to her hair as he explored her mouth, relishing the taste and feel of her lips and the softness of her curls. Tasting the salt from her tears, Draco reluctantly pulled away gently so he could look at her properly. Her cheeks were still wet from tears and her soft, swollen lips were pink. Her long dark lashes were forming together from the wetness as she looked down.

Draco cupped her face in his hands, forcing her to look up at him, and said gently, "Ginny, tell me what's wrong."

Just looking at him and seeing his concern for her just made it harder. It would be too hard to miss him, she thought, and more tears welled up. "I'm sorry," she said, looking down, and paused to steady herself. "It's just, thinking about the possibility of never seeing you again. It hurts."

Draco watched her, his heart skipping at the sight of her crying and the idea of never seeing her again. Impulsively, he pulled her closer to him, wrapping his arms around her so that Ginny laid her head on his chest. He held her silently and let her cry, while trying to hold back the well of emotions he felt. Draco smoothed her hair down and he kissed the top of her head.

After all they'd been through, though it had been short, he wanted her more than he could remember wanting anything.

When her tears subsided, Ginny rested against him and took in the warmth and comfort his body provided, all the while berating herself for being so transparent – she tried as a rule not to cry in front of boys.

"It's decided then," Draco declared into her hair. "I'm going home with you." He looked down at her and smirked.

"What?" Ginny asked, leaning back to look at him properly. Her eyes were wide and dark. "What did you just say?"

Draco wrapped his hands loosely around her waist.

"What if I stay with you."

Ginny stared. "Are you saying what I think you are?" She squeaked.

"Shut up Weasley," he teased, "I'm not going to repeat it again."

"You'd better be serious," she warned him.

"You can't handle being away from me, so what else am I to do but cater to your request?" Draco teased.

Ginny wiped a hand across her eyes, glaring at him half-heartedly. "You prat, don't make fun."

Draco grinned and put his hands on her arms. "Look, Ginny? It kills me, the thought of leaving you," he said worriedly, looking into her eyes. "You are the only good thing in my life right now, trust me when I say that. The truth is, I have nowhere to go. What you said before made sense, and you know the reasons I don't want to live with the Order, but I don't want to leave you. I want you, and I'll go back with you as long as you want me to." Draco stopped and waited for her reaction, searching her eyes and remembering the things she'd said earlier in the day. "But," he added hesitantly, "I guess I'd understand if you don't."

Throughout the speech, Ginny's blush had been growing and so had her smile. Ginny launched herself around Draco's neck. Her mouth crushed his with such a force that Draco had to hold her waist to keep himself from falling backward.

Getting the idea in his head that falling over might turn into reality with the intensity of what he was feeling and his self-control in a fast spiral to oblivion, Draco followed his feet, bringing Ginny with him as he walked backwards until he was leaning against the armrest of the couch. His hands that were around her waist moved silently up her back to tangle in her hair and press her closer.

Ginny sighed, deeply turned on by how his lips ravished hers like a starving man being granted his first meal in ages. Her hands had moved down to hold on to his shirt for support, but now they smoothed over the muscles in his chest and shoulders in dangerous curiosity.

Ginny moaned as Draco pulled on her bottom lip with his teeth.

The sensuous feel of her lips massaging his and the delicious taste of her tongue battling his own made Draco not want to part with her, even for a moment. He let himself be overcome with the sensations. He didn't even care that she had been sending him different signals as long as he could continue kissing her in this moment.

Unluckily enough, Ginny pulled slowly away from his. Heavy-lidded and breathless, she smiled a quirky grin, and breathed, "Of course I want you to, you moron."

It took Draco a moment in his haze to realize what exactly she was talking about. He let the insult slide and rested his hands on her hips smugly, grinning.

Ginny's eyes twinkled and she gently pushed Draco slowly onto the couch in a mischievous manner, crawling on top of him on all fours. Draco watched her intensely, and eyebrow raised and a sexy grin beginning to form at her tactics. Ginny felt a sense of accomplishment that she had such an effect on him.

Ginny leaned over him and dipped down to kiss him slowly, her lips the only part of her touching him.

Draco pulled her down so that she lay on top of him and resumed the slow, sensual movements of their mouths, so different than before, but no less pleasurable.

Ginny found a hard time tearing herself away from him, and that was dangerous. _He _was dangerous; his mouth, his touch, his scent even. He was basically telling her that he wanted to be with her, she knew. The thought made her heart flutter. But she also knew that he must be confused at what she wanted. It would probably ease her conscience to sort things out. Ginny pulled her lips away from his and took a deep breath.

Draco could see the guilt in her eyes as she looked at him. At once he was wary.

"Look, about this morning…" Ginny started, biting her lip.

Draco understood the source of the guilt. Now he just had to hear it, and wasn't sure he wanted to. He nodded that he was listening,

Ginny sighed and laid her head on his chest. "I was just an emotional mess today. I want you to understand that I do really like you, but being so quick to sleep with someone is not something I do. I've never been so impulsive in my life to do something like that. But oddly enough, I'm actually glad it was with you," she added quietly.

Draco's hand ran up and down her arm in a seemingly absent-minded, comforting gesture.

"Are you?" Draco asked quietly.

She could hear the self-doubt in his voice and Ginny lifted her head so she could meet his eyes.

"…Yes. Merlin knows why, but I like you. Quite a lot actually. But I won't take back what I said before. It was rash and stupid of us. You can't possibly disagree. We both knew, or thought, that you were going to leave the next day and we would probably never see each other again. Do you think that maybe we did it because of that?" Ginny asked him uncertainly.

Draco sighed, and reached up to tuck a stray hair behind her ear. His thumb lingered on her cheek, and Ginny closed her eyes at his touch. "I don't know about you, but I couldn't think of anything other than you that night. I didn't think ahead, and I'm going to sound like a fool saying this, but it was really, really hard for me to leave you that morning."

Ginny couldn't stop an embarrassed smile from creeping onto her face.

"You definitely do not sound like a fool," she mumbled hiding her face in the crook of his neck.

Draco chuckled and wrapped his arms comfortably around her. As much as he desired kissing her again, or tasting her skin like he was tempted to try from the sight of her bare shoulders, just being like this, the closeness of holding her, was a phenomenon to behold in itself.

After a while he sighed, the reality of life not quite dampening his mood as it normally would. "I hope you know this is going to be hard."

They both knew what he was talking about.

Ginny looked up again, smiling lightly. "Yes I know, but don't forget I'll protect you," she teased, though they both knew it was the truth. "Some of them may grill you at first, but I'm sure once you're there for a while, they'll warm up to you."

Draco snorted disbelievingly.

"Well," Ginny teased, "try not to antagonize them, that's all."

When Draco didn't respond, Ginny gave him a playful peck on the lips and adjusted her position so that she lay beside him, her head laying on his shoulder and her arm comfortably resting on his torso. "It'll be okay," she whispered, trying to convince herself as well as him.

Draco breathed in the smell of her hair and closed his eyes, hugging her closer.

Ginny sighed, and the happiness at seeing her mum and dad filled her. Ginny wondered sleepily whether she could convince Draco to go tomorrow – see her family on Christmas Day. Everyone would be there. The only thing she really worried about was Draco. Would they accept him once she told them everything? Her mum would, Ginny knew, but the others she was unsure about. It would be an interesting day, that was for sure.

The warmth from Draco's body and the heat from the dying fire made Ginny realise how exhausted she was. Soon enough, she was asleep.


End file.
